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CLASS OF 2019 COLLECTORS’ POSTER SUPERCAR XTRA ISSUE 110
ISSUE 110
SUPERCARXTRA.COM.AU
FORMERLY
2018 MUSTANG
SUPERCAR MAGAZINE
FLASHBACK
30 YEARS AGO PETER BROCK’S SOJOURN WITH FORD
SUPERCHARGER
LEE HOLDSWORTH HIS REBIRTH AT TICKFORD RACING SUPERCARS CEO EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW WITH SEAN SEAMER ANALYSIS INSIGHTS INTO THE LATEST NEWS IN SUPERCARS PULLOUT POSTER 2019 FORD MUSTANG SUPERCAR ENTRIES
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ISSUE 110
6 ANALYSIS: THE PRANCING PONY How the Ford Mustang has set tongues wagging in Supercars. 8 ANALYSIS: FORD VERSUS HOLDEN REKINDLED Why the marketing battle between Ford and Holden has stepped up in 2019. 10 ANALYSIS: SUMMER SERIES ON THE HORIZON The latest on Supercars’ plans to switch to a summer-based schedule. 12 ANALYSIS: WINNERS OF THE FIRST THOUSAND The most successful drivers, teams, manufacturers and cars after 1000 championship races. 13 2019 SUPERCARS CALENDAR The schedule for the 2019 Virgin Australia Supercars Championship season.
14 WINTERBOTTOM COLUMN Winterbottom gives his early-season take on adapting to his Team 18 Holden ZB Commodore. 16 LOWNDES COLUMN Lowndes on his new career as a television pundit for Supercars. 18 ROGERS COLUMN Rogers on Richie Stanaway’s transition into Garry Rogers Motorsport. 21 FEATURE: GENERATION NOW A look at the results of a significant Supercars generation change heading into 2019. 28 FEATURE: FUTURE STARS OF SUPERCARS The young drivers to watch in the Dunlop Super2 Series and Kumho Tyre Super2 Series in 2019.
52 FEATURE: STATE OF THE UNION An exclusive interview with Supercars CEO Sean Seamer. 58 FEATURE: THE TALL AND SHORT OF SUPERCARS How Supercars will find a better fit for two-door coupes on its control chassis. 62 FEATURE: HOLDING HIS WORTH Lee Holdsworth on his long-awaited move to Tickford Racing in 2019. 66 FEATURE: SUPERCARS NUMEROLOGY The history of the racing numbers on the Virgin Australia Supercars Championship grid in 2019. 74 SHOOTOUT Ranking the top-10 best looking cars of 2019, as voted by the fans.
SUPERCAR XTRA
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/SupercarXtra @SupercarXtra @SupercarXtra
SETTLING INTO THE 2019 SEASON
T
he 2019 Virgin Australia Supercars Championship started with the new Ford Mustang flying out of the gates and a new generation of drivers cementing their place at the top of the category. We take stock of this generation change and attempt to make sense of the new pecking order in 2019 in the cover story of this issue of SupercarXtra Magazine, in addition to a profile of the young drivers to watch in the Dunlop Super2 Series and Kumho Tyre Super3 Series. Elsewhere, we chat with Supercars CEO Sean Seamer for a state of the union on the category and examine how its technical team will attempt to cater for more two-door coupes moving forward. We also touch base with Lee Holdsworth as he settles in at Tickford Racing and reveal the history of the racing numbers on the Supercars grid in 2019.
PUBLISHER
Allan Edwards Published by Raamen Pty Ltd PO Box 225, Keilor, Victoria, 3036 publisher@supercarxtra.com.au EDITOR
Adrian Musolino editor@supercarxtra.com.au SUB EDITORS
Cameron McGavin, Krystal Boots ART DIRECTOR
Craig Fryers
Mark Winterbottom, Craig Lowndes and Garry Rogers also share their thoughts in their new columns, following on from our analysis of the key issues in Supercars. If you’re reading this within a Virgin Australia Supercars Championship program, you’ll find the event entry list, driver profiles and records in the middle of the magazine. Or, if you’re reading this in the standard issue of SupercarXtra Magazine, the middle part is our ‘Motorsport Legends’ section featuring Peter Brock’s shock switch to a Ford in 1989, a look back at 1979, a profile of the Holden HT Monaro
GTS350 and more. Remember, this edition is also available in digital form online and in the App Store and Google Play stores. Visit us at SupercarXtra.com. au for more details, to follow the latest news and to visit our online store, or keep in touch with us on our social media channels: on Twitter and Instagram at @SupercarXtra and on Facebook at www.facebook. com/SupercarXtra. Below are the two sides of the pullout poster you’ll find in the print edition of this issue. Purchase our posters and more from our online store at SupercarXtra.com.au. Enjoy! – Adrian
CONTRIBUTING JOURNALISTS
Andrew Clarke, John Bannon, James Crocker, Mark Winterbottom, Craig Lowndes, Garry Rogers PHOTOGRAPHERS
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Bookkeeper: Mark Frauenfelder accounts@supercarxtra.com.au MERCHANDISE & SUBSCRIPTIONS
Molly Barber Phone: (03) 9372 9125 molly@supercarxtra.com.au Material in Supercar Xtra is protected by copyright laws and may not be reproduced in full or in part in any format. Supercar Xtra will consider unsolicited articles and pictures; however, no responsibility will be taken for their return. While all efforts are taken to verify information in Supercar Xtra is factual, no responsibility will be taken for any material which is later found to be false or misleading. The opinions of the contributors are not always those of the publishers.
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The Ford Mustang Supercar has had a near-perfect start in the Virgin Australia Supercars Championship, putting its Holden ZB Commodore and Nissan Altima rivals on the back foot in 2019.
L
udo Lacroix has done it again! DJR Team Penske’s French car designer/engineer has produced another speedy Supercar, the new-for-2019 Ford Mustang. The Blue Oval’s new racer has continued where the championship-wining FG X Falcon left off, though the number of wins and level of performance suggests there is a significant gain with the Mustang in 2019. Lacroix was responsible for the design of the Ford BF Falcon, FG Falcon and Holden VF Commodore body kits when he was designer and engineer at Triple Eight Race Engineering. Those cars won the championship or Bathurst 1000 in their debut seasons in 2007 (BF),
2009 (FG) and 2013 (VF) and, on current form, the Mustang could do the same, much to the chagrin of Lacroix’s former employers. The Mustang’s early-season
form prompted calls for Supercars to investigate the weight and ballast of the first two-door coupe to be converted into a Supercar. Though the Mustang Supercar meets the
minimum 1395kg weight rule, there were fears significant ballast was placed lower in the car to get the car up to weight and improve the centre of gravity, thus its performance. With no rules around the overall centre of gravity of a Supercar, the category acted quickly by testing the centres of gravity of almost half of the cars on the grid following the Beaurepaires Melbourne 400 and setting about doing what it could to level the playing field. DJR Team Penkse was the focal point of this testing, especially around the weight of its exhaust system and claims it was purposely heavy to help lower the centre of gravity of the car even further. Also raising questions is the look of the Mustang, stretched
The Mustang Supercar has dominated the early stages of 2019.
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SUPERCAR XTRA
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to fit over the control Supercars chassis, with its big rear-spoiler endplates prompting some rivals to claim it looks too far removed from the road-going version of the pony car (see page 58). It’s a case of history repeating in Supercars off the back of introduction of the Holden ZB Commodore in 2018. The ZB Commodore’s use of composite panels and parts also led to an early-season scramble to equalise weight and performance between the new model and the FG X Falcon and Nissan Altima. The Holden ZB Commodore Supercar had a similar start to last season, winning seven of the first eight races before the FG X Falcon of eventual champion McLaughlin gained the ascendancy. There were 14 ZB Commodores across seven teams in 2018 with five drivers from three different teams winning those opening races for Holden, so the spread of performance was greater than the two teams (DJR Team Penske and Tickford Racing, which also runs the 23 Red Racing entry) running the Mustang in 2019. With two recent championship-winning teams fielding the Mustang compared to the number of ZBs last season, the performance of the new car has been more noticeable in 2019. Confusing the situation is the implementation of a new control transaxle/gearbox and ban on twin-spring dampers in 2019, which limit setup options for drivers and engineers. As the parity debates rage on and the ZB Commodore and Altima fight back against the Mustang, there can be no denying the genius of Lacroix and the strength of his latest weapon.
MUSTANG
ZB COMMODORE
ALTIMA
SIDE-BY-SIDE COMPARISON: Side views of the Ford Mustang, Holden ZB Commodore and Nissan Altima Supercars, highlighting the different shapes and wing sizes of the three cars. The Mustang is the first two-door coupe to be fitted over the control Supercars chassis under the current Gen2 rules.
SUPERCAR XTRA
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FORD VS HOLDEN
REKINDLED
Ford’s return to the Virgin Australia Supercars Championship in a factory-backed capacity has forced long-time rival Holden to increase its own support for its teams, rekindling the legendary rivalry in Australian touring cars.
F
ord and Holden may have been the cornerstones of Australian touring cars over the last six decades but their involvement in an official capacity has varied over that period. Ford returns as a factory backer in 2019 after a threeyear absence, giving its blessing and providing technical backing to get the new Mustang Supercar on track as a replacement for the retired Falcon Supercar. The Blue Oval is represented in Supercars not just by the six Mustangs on the grid but also as a supplier of safety, recovery, course and medical vehicles and with demonstrations and other significant marketing support. “It’s certainly been a really big shot in the arm for the brand in total,” says Ford Australia marketing boss Tony Jordan on the impact of the Mustang’s arrival into Supercars. “We’ve seen a really strong link between everything we’ve done with Mustang over the past 12 months. “Every time we put something out on social media, it’s been some of the best-performing posts that we’ve had. “In terms of sentiment, in terms of impressions, in terms of sharing, and video completions, it’s been really, really good. It really helps. “The amount of excitement,
8
Holden and Ford factory-backed teams are going head-to-head in 2019.
if they’re employees, with our fans, with our dealers... it’s just been immense.” DJR Team Penske and Tickford Racing continued racing Falcons even when Ford withdrew its factory backing, forcing the teams to create/strengthen relationships with Ford dealers that continue with the return of head office’s support. “Tickford and our team have respective relationships with a number of Ford dealers, but the two that we’re particularly close to are the Bayfords and Metro Ford,” says DJR Team Penske team principal Ryan Story. “I know from speaking to Tim [Edwards, Tickford principal] and speaking to the dealer principal of Metro, there’s been a spike as a consequence of the Supercars relationship. “That correlates back to how many dashboards Dick, Fabian [Coulthard] and Scott
have had to sign on some of these cars before they leave the dealership!” While Ford’s backing is funnelled to DJR Team Penske and Tickford Racing (including the 23 Red Racing entry), Holden has changed its approach to spread its support across all Commodore runners this season – Triple Eight Race Engineering, Erebus Motorsport, Walkinshaw Andretti United, Brad Jones Racing, Garry Rogers Motorsport, Tekno Autosports, Team 18 and Matt Stone Racing – rather than just its factory team, Triple Eight Race Engineering. This has seen the likes of Erebus Motorsport, which ran its own ‘E’ logo on the grilles of its Commodores in 2018, revert to the Holden logo. “What we’ve simply done is recognise the advocacy we get from the teams,” explains
Holden marketing boss Kristian Aquilina. “We’re recognising what they do for us as a brand with a bit of additional support from what we’ve been doing in the last couple of years. “It’s not just a parts deal, it’s a package of stuff. I don’t want to go into detail, but it helps ease their costs a little bit. “We felt that the right decision for us as a brand in the future is to be more involved than just narrowing it to one team. I hope it’s a small start to a longer term relationship with all of the Holden teams.” Holden has struggled in the marketplace since the closure of local manufacturing and with low sales for the ZB Commodore, leading to a change in its marketing approach amidst rumours it will accelerate the importation of the Camaro in a bid to counter the Mustang.
SUPERCAR XTRA
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21/3/19 5:33 pm
SUMMER SERIES ON THE HORIZON
The Virgin Australia Supercars Championship is busily working on a reworking of its calendar from 2020, with a move to summer well and truly in the works.
T
he Virgin Australia Supercars Championship is set for its biggest shake-up since the introduction of a multi-round format in 1969. Work is well underway on a transition to a summer-based series in a bid to avoid the AFL and NRL seasons and get into better weather periods. The 2019/2020 season shapes as a transitional schedule ahead of a full summer move. In an exclusive interview in this edition of SupercarXtra Magazine, Virgin Australia Supercars Championship CEO Sean Seamer gives the
10
justifications for the move. “Absolutely we are looking at how do we go racing in better weather patterns, how do we minimise our overlap with the NRL and AFL and get places like Tassie, Auckland and other places where it’s a bit chilly sometimes into better weather,” he says. Racing in summer will allow for more twilight/night running, with Barbagallo Raceway hosting night racing in 2019 and Sydney Motorsport Park returning to the schedule with another event under lights from 2020. “We can do more twilight racing, we can do more night
racing, and it means that people can do what they need to do with their family and their kids on a Saturday and can come to the track that night and enjoy the racing,” he adds. “When you go into a better window and you’ve got more daylight it gives you the flexibility to innovate and do things differently, like we’re doing in Perth this year. “Motorsport is best enjoyed on a sunny day, so we don’t have the same challenges as other codes in terms of how their schedules and their seasons ladder down into youth programs, etc. “We also don’t have the
luxury of being able to play in any weather. We don’t have stadiums, so weather’s really important for us. “We’re just trying to do the right thing by us and our fans so that more people can enjoy us more of the time.” The changes will soon fall into place, with the Superloop Adelaide 500 rumoured to be moving to October/November and the Vodafone Gold Coast 600 potentially switching to February, a date preferred by the IndyCar Series linked with a return to the streets of Surfers Paradise. Read our exclusive interview with Seamer from page 52.
SUPERCAR XTRA
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November 2017 - Order Form No.1
Item No.
Customer___Pole Position P/L
Debtor ID___________________________
Order No.__________________________
Rep Name__________________________
Order Date___December 02, 2017
Delivery Date________________________
Classic Carlectables Description
18644
1/18 1966 Pony Mustang – Wimbledon White with Red Interior
18654
1/18 Holden VK Commodore – 1986 Wellington 500 Winner Brock / Moffat
Scheduled Production
Due
750
2 Qtr 2018
nd
nd
2 Qtr 2018
W/S $
RRP $
149.00
259.00
SCALE: 1:18 OUR PRICE: $179.00+p&h SCALE: 1:43 OUR PRICE: $39.99+p&h Orders can be made by: SCALE: 1:64 OUR PRICE: $19.50+p&h
Mail: Southern Model Supplies PO Box 405 Melrose Park SA 5039
1,000
149.00
259.00
Order Qty
2
Fax: 08 8277 6252 E-mail: sales@southernmodels.com.au
Orders Must Be Received By 30th November 2017 ∗∗∗ IMPORTANT NOTE ∗∗∗ Please place your orders by return email, fax or post only. Phone orders will no longer be accepted.
November DELIVERIES The following will commence being dispatched on approximately 23rd November 2017
ITEM NO.
LE
AVAILABILITY
18612
1/18 Holden VS Commodore – 1997 Bathurst 1000 - Lowndes / Murphy
CLASSIC CARLECTABLES
750
Sold Out
18636
1/18 Retro Ford XY Falcon GT-HO Phase III
1000
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AUSTRALIA-WIDE DELIVERY
WINNERS OF THE FIRST THOUSAND
The Australian Touring Car Championship/Virgin Australia Supercars Championship notched up its 1000th championship race at the 2019 Beaurepaires Melbourne 400. These are the most successful entrants at that milestone.
F
ifty-nine years after the Australian Touring Car Championship was born at the short-lived Gnoo Blas circuit in Orange in New South Wales in 1960, the Virgin Australia Supercars Championship celebrated its 1000th championship race at the 2019 Beaurepaires Melbourne 400, on the support bill of the Australian Formula 1 Grand Prix. It was fitting that the 1000race milestone occurred at the Australian Grand Prix, in the second year that the event was included in the Supercars championship after a long battle to gain the billing at the biggest motorsport event in Australia. Ironically, the Formula 1 world
championship celebrated its 1000th grand prix a month later in China. The speed in getting to the mark in recent years reflects the increased number of races in latter decades, from singlerace championship deciders at the formation of the series to multiple races per round and a drastically expanded schedule. The years in which the century milestones were achieved are as follows: 100th (1979), 200th (1990), 300th (1996), 400th (1999), 500th (2002), 600th (2006), 700th (2009), 800th (2012), 900th (2015) and 1000th (2019). This skews the stats in regards to the most successful entrants over the 1000 races; nevertheless they highlight the
record-breaking run of Triple Eight Race Engineering and Jamie Whincup since their first championship win in 2008. While Craig Lowndes was the first to 100 race wins in 2013, Whincup surpassed his teammate in 2017. Triple Eight became the most successful team in terms of race wins by passing Holden Racing Team/ Walkinshaw Andretti United in 2018, the season it took over the mantle of the factory Holden team from the former. Holden can also lay claim to the title of most successful manufacturer over the 1000 races, with a comfortable buffer over long-time rival Ford and with the VF Commodore leading a top-three sweep of the most successful cars.
MOST WINS: DRIVERS 1 Jamie Whincup 2 Craig Lowndes 3 Mark Skaife 4 Garth Tander 5 Peter Brock 6 Glenn Seton 7 Mark Winterbottom 8 Allan Moffat =9 John Bowe Shane van Gisbergen
113 107 90 54 48 40 38 36 31
MOST WINS: TEAM 1 Triple Eight Race Engineering 184 2 HRT/Walkinshaw Andretti United 180 3 DJR/DJR Team Penske 107 4 FPR/Prodrive/Tickford Racing 71 5 Kmart Racing/HSV Dealer Team 50 6 Gibson/00 Motorsport 47 7 Glenn Seton Racing/Ford Tickford Racing 42 8 Stone Brothers Racing 41 =9 Allan Moffat Racing Holden Dealer Team 38
MOST WINS: MANUFACTURERS 1 Holden 2 Ford 3 Nissan 4 BMW 5 Volvo 6 Chevrolet 7 Mazda 8 Jaguar =9 Porsche AMG Mercedes-Benz
548 365 31 17 11 10 8 4 2
MOST WINS: CARS
Jamie Whincup, Triple Eight, Holden and the VF Commodore hold the records for most wins at the 1000-race milestone for the Australian Touring Car Championship/Virgin Australia Supercars Championship.
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1 Holden Commodore VF 2 Holden Commodore VE/VEII 3 Holden Commodore VT 4 Ford Falcon FG 5 Ford Falcon BA =6 Holden Commodore VX Ford Falcon FG X 8 Ford Falcon BF 9 Holden Commodore VZ 10 Holden Commodore VS
108 103 63 55 51 45 39 37 35
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SUPERCARS 2019 CHAMPIONSHIP CALENDAR
FEB 28-MAR 3 Superloop Adelaide 500
Adelaide Parklands Circuit
MAR 14-17
Beaurepaires Melbourne 400
Albert Park Street Circuit
APR 5-7
Tyrepower Tasmania SuperSprint
Symmons Plains Raceway
APR 12-14
WD-40 Phillip Island SuperSprint
Phillip Island GP Circuit
MAY 2-4
PIRTEK Perth SuperNight
MAY 24-26
Winton SuperSprint
Winton Motor Raceway
JUN 14-16
BetEasy Darwin Triple Crown
Hidden Valley Raceway
JUL 5-7
Watpac Townsville 400
Townsville Street Circuit
JUL 26-28
Ipswich SuperSprint
AUG 23-25
The Bend SuperSprint
SEP 13-15
ITM Auckland SuperSprint
Pukekohe Park Raceway
OCT 10-13
Supercheap Auto Bathurst 1000
Mount Panorama Circuit
OCT 25-27
Vodafone Gold Coast 600
NOV 8-10
Sandown 500
NOV 22-24
Coates Hire Newcastle 500
Barbagallo Raceway
Queensland Raceway The Bend Motorsport Park
Surfers Paradise Street Circuit Sandown Motor Raceway Newcastle Street Circuit Dates correct at time of printing
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EXPERT INSIGHT
BEYOND THE WHEEL Column by Mark Winterbottom
WORKING IN A NEW WAY
T
here was a lot of hype heading into the new season around where we’d be in the pecking order, so it was a great feeling to roll out and achieve some good results early on. It’s been a big period of adjustment getting used to a new driving style and not having teammates to work with. We have a link with Triple Eight Race Engineering, so we can keep an eye on their data and correspond with them in terms of what we’re lacking and what we need. It is certainly different not being in a debrief and having a direct teammate to compare
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with. But having the engineering team trying to come up with what’s best for just us was actually a nice change, so it’s a process to get used to, this new way of working. While there’s other singlecar customer teams on the grid, we are looking at Triple Eight as our benchmark considering we have access to their data. It does feel a bit strange working so closely with a team that I’ve had such a strong rivalry with over the years, but it is our technical director Phil Keed’s role to work with them to achieve a better car. Having access to their data means that we can see firsthand what someone like Jamie
“IT’S BEEN A BIG PERIOD OF ADJUSTMENT GETTING USED TO A NEW DRIVING STYLE AND NOT HAVING TEAMMATES TO WORK WITH.” Whincup does in terms of their steering and brake traits, essentially how he drives the car, without being in there with him. It wouldn’t have been relevant in the past given we were in different cars but now it’s really relevant, and I’ve had to adapt my style massively to drive the car. How cars from different teams achieve their speed can be so very different, even though there are so many
control parts. How we get to achieving different results in setup and, therefore, handling is so varied – steering rate, how you’re turning, how you brake, when you’re on the throttle, etc. It’s very hard to explain unless you’re driving but the subtle variables make for a completely different way of achieving speed. This process has been helped by the introduction of the new transaxle and the ban on twin-spring dampers, helping to minimise the tuning options we had while adapting to the new driving style When you get used to something a certain way, you then try to match the car to what it’s done before, but I haven’t had to do that before with this package. I’ve just hopped in and picked its strengths and weaknesses, and I’m not worried about the twin-springs not being there. I’m more worried about tuning it within the new parameters to my liking. There’s still a long way to go this season, so we are confident we will only build our confidence as we learn more and continue to bank some strong results. We haven’t set a specific goal as we wanted to see where we were and then work towards improving the position, so the learning process will continue. – Frosty
SUPERCAR XTRA
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EXPERT INSIGHT
RIGHT ON TRACK
Column by Craig Lowndes
SETTLING INTO A NEW ROLE
I
t’s been a busy start to the new season settling into my new role with the Supercars television commentary team. We’ve gone into the events very well prepared, working closely with Jessica Yates and the production crew to try and get our heads around how it all works and what they’re looking for from me. In the beginning I was probably a bit tense, trying to get all the information out, not knowing which camera to look to, where to stand and the like. But I’ve become more comfortable with time, and I’m enjoying being able to contribute to the overall show of Supercars. It’s been great to work so closely with Mark Skaife again, too. Our connection goes way back to the Holden Racing Team days and then, later in our careers, sharing a win at Bathurst with Triple Eight in 2010. Working with him in a new capacity feels very familiar and, therefore, comfortable.
I know his personality, how he operates, when he’s joking, when he’s trying to be serious, the way he delivers information, so it’s a good connection for me to have in this new role. I’ve learned a lot from him already and he’s given me a lot of guidance. Definitely one of the most interesting parts of the new job is being able to wander up and down pitlane and walk into any pit garage, which isn’t
something I could really do as a rival driver! Seeing the cars roll out to start a new season and not being in one of them was a strange feeling. But we had three to four months of getting used to that, talking about it and getting ready for it, so it was expected. At the end of the first event I was happy I made the right decision, especially knowing how challenging the
temperatures and the conditions were for the drivers. In that sense I felt quite content looking back, and I believe now, today, that I still made the right choice and am very happy with where I’ve moved into in the next chapter of my career. In terms of on-track action, it’s shaping up as another close season with the Ford Mustang Supercar rolling out strongly and the Holden Commodore entrants having strength in numbers. The strengths and weaknesses of the Mustang, Commodore and Nissan Altima will show up at different circuits across the schedule. The teams running the Mustang are all showing a good turn of speed, while Triple Eight is leading the way for Holden. My pre-season tip for the championship was Erebus Motorsport’s David Reynolds, so I don’t believe Triple Eight will have it all to themselves in 2019, though. Let’s see! – Craig
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GARRY THE GURU
Column by Garry Rogers
STOP WHINING AND START RACING
B
ack in the late 1990s, a young driver called Garth Tander burst onto the Supercars scene. He was extremely fast and got involved in a few incidents. Many of the team owners of the time were outraged and wanted to ban Garth. A meeting was called at Network Ten’s head office, which I was summoned to, and they were demanding that the category ban Garth because he was crashing into everyone. I had to stand up in front of them all and state Garth’s case and say that the fact of the matter is that he is racing as hard as he can and occasionally crashes happen when you race hard. They all got over it, and we all now know what Garth did with his career! I was reminded of this situation at this year’s Australian Grand Prix meeting when everyone was calling for Richie Stanaway’s blood. I think that everyone has forgotten that when we go to these races it is called a ‘motor race’; it is not called a ‘motor procession’. I’m not one for people crashing into everyone else every second of the day, but these cars are so competitive and the category is so close that 95 per cent of the passing moves start with a little tap because the cars just don’t get untidy enough to make a pass unless there is a little contact. Good drivers will deal with the push and shove and balance their car again and push on without losing position.
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The whining drivers can sook all that they like; we are here to race. It’s a shame that they can’t do the same. Richie spent some time in the steward’s office with the major incident being the on-track clash with Tickford Racing’s Lee Holdsworth. I am not one that partakes in social media activity, but I am well informed that both Richie and GRM (particularly myself) were central in a lot of discussion with much of it negative. I have absolutely no problem with that as I am a believer in freedom of speech, so long as derogatory language is not used. Richie is a very accomplished motor-racing driver, and to his credit he backed himself to leave New Zealand in his late
teens and travelled to Europe with no money but plenty of desire. He had some remarkable successes and although his dream to race in F1 didn’t eventuate, he at least gave it a go. I won’t go into the details of the Holdsworth incident, but one thing I did learn was that Richie is not a whinger; he gets on with things. I certainly do not condone dangerous driving, but I do encourage good old-fashioned hard racing where you fight tooth and nail and don’t get bullied. I am seriously over the café latte/bike-riding set of drivers who are all buddy, buddy. Teams and sponsors are spending enormous amounts of money to put on races, not processions.
The facts are victories are tough to get and drivers need to fight for every position. As a sport we need to get fair dinkum because vanilla is boring! It’s absolutely paramount that we remember that motor racing is entertainment, and although incredibly dangerous and rules must be in place for safety, we must focus on the entertainment side. Having said that, we are not at all happy with our performance as a team early in the season. We are just not quick enough! I’m sure some of that missing speed is in the drivers and some of it is in the cars; we are looking into everything as a team. I think that our cars are very good cars, but maybe they could be driven a little better. James ‘Beiber’ Golding has been driving these cars long enough that he should be on to it by now. I believe in him as a driver, but he is going to have to start to do better than he has been doing so far. Richie has proven that he is quick enough in these cars, but he is not consistent enough. To date as full-time driver Richie has not delivered, and ‘Beiber’ is not delivering, but that doesn’t mean we all give up. What it does mean is that we all need to work harder and harder. – Garry
“THESE CARS ARE SO COMPETITIVE AND THE CATEGORY IS SO CLOSE THAT 95 PER CENT OF THE PASSING MOVES START WITH A LITTLE TAP BECAUSE THE CARS JUST DON’T GET UNTIDY ENOUGH TO MAKE A PASS UNLESS THERE IS A LITTLE CONTACT.”
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WORDS Adrian Musolino IMAGES Ben Auld, Supercars
The full-time retirements of Craig Lowndes and Garth Tander put an exclamation point on the Virgin Australia Supercars Championship’s most recent generation change. With a new champion in Scott McLaughlin, new contenders such as Cameron Waters, new veterans such as Jamie Whincup and new rising stars such as Anton de Pasquale, we attempt to make sense of this new pecking order by grouping the 2019 grid into their new roles.
T
here have been a number of high-profile retirements in Supercars in recent seasons, with Craig Lowndes’ decision to step back from full-time driving the most significant. He represented the changing of the guard in Australian touring cars in the mid-1990s, bursting down the door that saw Garth Tander, Jason Bright, Greg Murphy, Todd Kelly and more follow and take over the mantle of leading drivers from Peter Brock, Dick Johnson, Jim Richards, Larry Perkins and co. The latter were a golden generation of Australian touring cars, but Lowndes and co. carried the sport through an era of expansion and growth.
The next great generation change took place in the mid-2000s, when Jamie Whincup, Mark Winterbottom, James Courtney, Rick Kelly and co. raised the bar in terms of preparation and fitness. They did battle with Lowndes’ generation in a fascinating era of Supercars, though they now face new foes from the next in line. The new crop of leading drivers are products of the Dunlop Super2 Series, the second-tier category, which has produced well-rounded talent ready to hit the main game running at a younger age. This is the generation led by reigning champ McLaughlin, with each driver in this category filling a different role in Supercars’ newlook pecking order.
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GENERATION CHANGE
THE NEW LEADERS
David Reynolds, Shane van Gisbergen, Scott McLaughlin, Chaz Mostert, Cameron Waters
It was fitting that Scott McLaughlin was crowned champion on the same day Supercars paid tribute to the retiring Craig Lowndes. It marked a handover of sorts between two of the most popular and fanfriendly drivers in the sport, separated by two generations. McLaughlin is leading the way for a crop of drivers who learned their craft in the Dunlop Super2 Series and have helped dethrone the recent ruler of Supercars, Jamie Whincup. With plenty of experience at a young age in a Supercar, success has
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“THE REIGNING CHAMPION HAS ALREADY BUILT UP A GREAT RIVALRY WITH COUNTRYMAN SHANE VAN GISBERBEN, WITH THEIR BATTLE FOR THE TITLE LAST SEASON ONE OF THE MOST CLOSELY FOUGHT IN YEARS.” come quickly for the likes of McLaughlin, who won races in his first full-time season and is already rewriting the record books when it comes to achievements such as pole positions. McLaughlin is the natural successor to Lowndes, with his friendly personality and willingness to engage with fans reaching a level of popularity few New Zealanders
have achieved in Australia. But success at a young age means Supercars may struggle to hold on to him, with his strong ties to Team Penske, love of NASCAR and American fiancée possible triggers for a Marcos Ambrose-like move to North America. The reigning champion has already built up a great rivalry with countryman Shane van Gisberben, with their battle for the
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title last season one of the most closely fought in years. Van Gisbergen doesn’t necessarily fit the rising-star mould filled by McLaughlin in recent times, debuting in the series back in 2007 but still only 30 years of age in 2019. As the aggressor on track and driver of Roland Dane’s powerhouse Triple Eight outfit, van Gisbergen has somewhat assumed the role of villain up against McLaughlin, a narrative that fits in perfectly with what Supercars wants from its new generation of leaders. If McLaughlin is the hero and van Gisbergen the villain, then David Reynolds is the joker. His rise at Erebus Motorsport hasn’t stopped him from playing the class clown; in fact, if anything, he’s been free to be himself under the leadership of equally eccentric team owner Betty Klimenko. Like van Gisbergen, Reynolds has over a decade of experience in Supercars but is now at his peak, leading Erebus Motorsport to results beyond expectations. This combination makes him stand out from the other drivers around his age and level of experience. Tickford Racing duo Chaz Mostert and Cameron Waters may have struggled last season but the team’s return to form with the new Mustang Supercar has allowed them to shine once more. With long-time Tickford Racing driver Mark Winterbottom moving on at the end of 2018, Mostert and Waters have stepped up as team leaders in 2019.
Mostert already has a big following, bursting onto the scene in 2013 and winning a race for the then under-funded Dick Johnson Racing, conquering Mount Panorama with a dramatic fightback in 2014 only to suffer a horror accident there in 2015, and recovering from those injuries to return to the top step of the podium. Like McLaughlin, he has attracted attention from overseas, namely BMW and its GT program, though we hope they hang around to continue a rivalry that dates back to their go-karting days. With Mostert’s similarly engaging personality, both Ford teams have a star driver on-track and marketable personality off-track. And with Mostert starting out at McLaughlin’s current team and having a close friendship with Dick Johnson, rumours have circled they could be teammates at DJR Team Penske in the not-too-distant future. Waters is the dark horse of the group, flying under the radar despite following in the footsteps of McLaughlin by winning the Dunlop Super2 Series title. His stunning win in the 2017 Sandown 500 confirmed his potential, and he has grown as a driver in the switch to the Mustang. These different characters are peaking in their careers at the same time, emerging out of the shadows of the likes of Lowndes to take their place at the top of the pecking order.
THE NEXT TIER
André Heimgartner, Nick Percat, Simona de Silvestro, Scott Pye, Tim Slade.
Some drivers aren’t easily placed in the generation ranking, either by age or results thus far. This group still have time to rise to the ‘new leaders’ bracket, though much will depend on whether they and their teams can step up on a more consistent basis. Brad Jones Racing teammates Tim Slade and Nick Percat have been evenly matched since joining forces at the Holden team in 2017, separated by just one place and 41 points in the championship standings in 2018 and often running in close quarters in 2019. They are aiming to push Brad Jones Racing further up the grid on a more consistent basis, following in the footsteps of of Shane van Gisbergen and Will Davison at Tekno Autosports and David Reynolds at Erebus Motorsport in challenging the factory-backed teams. Percat and Scott Pye were part of arguably the strongest Dunlop Super2 Series field ever in 2012, with fellow graduates Scott McLaughlin and Chaz Mostert battling it out further up the grid in recent seasons. Their chances of following suit appear to rest on the fortunes of their teams. SUPERCAR XTRA
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GENERATION CHANGE
While Brad Jones Racing punches above its weight, Pye’s Walkinshaw Andretti United is aiming to replicate the success of DJR Team Penske following investment from leading international motorsport figures in Michael Andretti and Zak Brown. Pye is well positioned to grow with the team having led the way in 2018, looking to make amends for being forced to make way for McLaughlin at DJR Team Penske. André Heimgartner and Simona de Silvestro face the toughest battle at Kelly Racing, the rebranded team that lost factory backing from Nissan in the offseason but is racing on with the Altima. Heimgartner got a deserved second season with the team having saved his career with a stunning substitute co-driver stint with Brad Jones Racing in 2017, off the back of shortened spells at Super Black Racing and Lucas Dumbrell Motorsport. De Silvestro could have been driving with Triple Eight Race Engineering in 2019, though the failed deal robbed the Swiss racer of a great opportunity to show her talent in a leading Supercar. Matching the likes of Heimgartner is vital for
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her confidence, especially with overseas options out there, including her Formula E testing role in 2019. Will one of these drivers one day challenge the likes of McLaughlin for a title? Or will the abundance of talent and limitations of their teams stop them from making the step up? We shall see.
THE NEW VETERANS
Mark Winterbottom, Rick Kelly, Jamie Whincup, Fabian Coulthard, James Courtney, Lee Holdsworth, Will Davison
The last great generation change in Supercars occurred in the mid-2000s and saw the emergence of Jamie Whincup as the new benchmark in the category and produced fellow champions James Courtney, Rick Kelly and Mark Winterbottom. Following the recent full-time retirements of Craig Lowndes, Garth Tander, Jason Bright and Todd Kelly, the likes of Whincup, Winterbottom, Kelly and Courtney are the new veterans of Supercars. Courtney is the oldest on the Supercars grid at 39 years of age, followed closely by Winterbottom at 38, Coulthard and
Davison at 37 and Holdsworth, Kelly and Whincup at 36. Even though he’s one of the youngest of this group, Kelly is the most experienced in terms of round starts, passing his brother Todd to join the top-five of the all-time round starts’ list in 2019. There’s still plenty of life in these veterans. Whincup can never be counted out as championship contender; he’s the Supercars record breaker in terms of most championships, race wins, podium finishers and pole positions, though he’s faced his toughest inter-team competition from Shane van Gisbergen, who has finished ahead of Whincup in two of their three seasons as teammates. Davison and Holdsworth have been rejuvenated by the form of the Ford Mustang Supercar, though they too face stiff opposition and direct competition from a younger generation in the form of Chaz Mostert and Cameron Waters. Fabian Coulthard, James Courtney and Rick Kelly have been under the most pressure from younger teammates amongst this group. Coulthard is the most at threat given McLaughlin’s red-hot form and the
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pressure mounting from DJR Team Penske to have two drivers at the front of the grid on a regular basis. With the likes of Mostert off-contract and being linked with the highly-sought after drive, Coulthard is racing to extend his career. Courtney, too, has battled to match teammate Scott Pye over the last two seasons, with the latter the right age to grow with the team under the reworked ownership structure of Walkinshaw Andretti United. Kelly faces no such pressures as part of the family-run Kelly Racing. However, in passing his brother in the all-time starts list, will Kelly also ponder his driving future with an eye on committing more time to the off-track running of the team? Unlike many other drivers, Kelly has a clear and visible transition into retirement from driving. Winterbottom set out on a new path by moving to Team 18 in 2019, ending a long association with Ford and Tickford. It seems to have rejuvenated the second oldest driver on the grid, with the potential of taking on a greater role with the team given his seemingly close ties to owner Charlie Schwerkolt. If these drivers follow the example of Lowndes and Tander, then they should have a few years left. And while the veteran tag may not sit comfortably, it’s part of a new reality in this reworking of the pecking order.
THE SOPHOMORES
Jack Le Brocq, James Golding, Richie Stanaway, Todd Hazelwood, Anton de Pasquale
These five drivers were full-time main-game rookies in 2018, earning their spot on the grid as race winners in the Dunlop Super2 Series. But this season shapes as vital for all five if they are to remain in the main game on a long-term basis. The biggest improver has been Todd Hazelwood, benefitting from a move into a Triple Eight-built Holden ZB Commodore following a rookie season in which he was forced into a mid-season switch from a Ford FG X Falcon to a VF Commodore. Hazelwood showed great maturity in handling the situation and is well embedded within Matt Stone Racing, working within the team’s commercial department. Jack Le Brocq and Anton de Pasquale led the way for the rookies in 2018, finishing in 19th and 20th respectively, and they have the chance to build on those campaigns with the stability of staying with the same teams and in the same cars in 2019. But while de Pasquale has the benchmark of Reynolds at Erebus Motorsport, Le Brocq is flying solo at a Tekno Autosports team that has undergone a significant changeover of staff in the off-season. Both have the talent to make an impression in Supercars, though SUPERCAR XTRA
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GENERATION CHANGE
DRIVERS’ AGES IN 2019
39 James Courtney 38 Mark Winterbottom 37 Fabian Coulthard, Will Davison 36 Lee Holdsworth, Rick Kelly, Jamie Whincup 34 David Reynolds, Tim Slade 31 Simona de Silvestro, Nick Percat 30 Shane van Gisbergen 29 Scott Pye 28 Richie Stanaway 27 Chaz Mostert, Garry Jacobson, Jack Le Brocq 26 Scott McLaughlin 25 Macauley Jones, Cameron Waters 24 Anton de Pasquale, Todd Hazelwood André Heimgartner 23 James Golding
de Pasquale appears best placed of the sophomore runners. Richie Stanaway and James Golding have found themselves as teammates following Stanaway’s departure from Tickford Racing and shock move to Garry Rogers Motorsport (GRM) in place of Garth Tander. It was a lifeline for Stanaway, who endured a nightmare rookie season punctuated by a very public falling out with Tickford. GRM’s new title sponsor Boost Mobile and its owner Peter Adderton clearly believe in Stanaway, but he will need to repay that faith. These changes have left Golding without the mentoring figure of Tander across the other side of the garage. Tander had worked closely with Golding as co-driver and then teammate, so his absence could be seen as a detriment to the youngster’s development given the inexperience in the team. It remains to be seen whether this rookie class will be as strong as the Dunlop Super2 Series graduates of 2012 (Scott McLaughlin, Chaz Mostert, Scott Pye and Nick Percat). They have youth on their side, though as we’ve seen choices and application go a long way in setting down the path of success.
Jacobson won the 2016 Dunlop Super2 Series but had to wait a further two years to graduate into the main game, helped by two impressive endurance campaigns. He faces a tough ask in his full-time rookie season given Kelly Racing’s loss of factory support, though with the opportunity to show his worth against teammates of varying experience. They will be aiming for the progression of the likes of Scott McLaughlin and co. in using success in the Dunlop Super2 Series as a launching pad to a long main-game career. Watching how these drivers progress and their careers play out is a big reason why the Virgin Australia Supercars Championship will be such a compelling drama.
THE ROOKIES
Garry Jacobson, Macauley Jones
ABOVE: Our cover from August/September 2014 named McLaughlin and Mostert as the rivalry of the future, which is playing out in 2019 (below).
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This season’s rookie class is smaller but equally deserving of its chance in the main game. Jones, son of team owner Brad Jones, has competed in five seasons in the Dunlop Super2 Series, four main-game wildcard rounds and four endurance campaigns. His future is likely to be closely tied to Brad Jones Racing, though it will be interesting to see if he follows the example of cousin Andrew Jones (son of Kim Jones) and race for teams other than the family-run operation.
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MIKE HARBAR PRINTS All these prints and more are available from SupercarXtra.com.au or call 03 9372 9125 Prices do not include delivery costs. Standard Australia Post rates apply.
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GENERATION CHANGE
WORDS James Crocker IMAGES Supercars, Brad Jones Racing, Supplied
The change of pecking order in the Supercars main game has thrust a new generation into the spotlight, opening doors for the next tier of drivers to accelerate their development in the Dunlop Super2 Series and rebranded Kumho Tyre Super3 Series. These are the drivers to watch in those developmental categories in 2019. Thomas Randle
debut with an endurance campaign in the Mustang Supercar. “He’s shown he’s a talented driver, and we’ve shown we can mould a talented driver into a winning driver,” says Tickford boss Tim Edwards.
Jack Smith
WILL BROWN
THOMAS RANDLE
Randle is following in the footsteps of Chaz Mostert and Cameron Waters as Tickford Racing’s Dunlop Super2 Series young gun being groomed for the main game. The 22-year-old from Melbourne comes from a racing background, with father Dean having been a successful sports-sedan competitor for several years. Randle began in Australian Formula Ford and Formula 4 before heading overseas, running competitively in British Formula 3 and the Formula Renault Eurocup before returning to Australia last year to race in the secondtier Supercars series for Tickford. Randle showed good speed in his transition into touring cars, picking up the Mike Kable Young Gun award for his rookie efforts. In 2019 Randle begins his second season with Tickford and will make his main-game 28
Brown burst onto the scene in 2016, taking out both the Toyota 86 and Australian Formula 4 championships. The Toowoomba native followed this up with an impressive Dunlop Super2 Series debut season with Eggleston Motorsport, while also making his main-game debut with Erebus Motorsport in the endurance events. Strong runs alongside fellow rising star Anton de Pasquale were counteracted by bad luck at Bathurst and a mistake that culminated in a hefty accident on the Gold Coast, but Brown gave a good account for himself and returns to the #99 for this Will Brown
year’s long-distance events. He’s racing yet again with Eggleston in the Dunlop Super2 Series and team owner Racheal Eggleston describes him as a “super talent”. “There is no doubt he has the ability, it’s now just about piecing it all together,” she says.
JACK SMITH
Smith has a lot of experience for someone so young. Now in his third full season in the Dunlop Super2 series, Smith is driving the lone Brad Jones Racing entry and is building a strong relationship with the Albury-based team. The 2017 Kumho Tyre Super3 Series champ also showed his talent across the Tasman, winning the BNTV8 championship in New Zealand over the summer. A maingame debut as a wildcard entry at Symmons Plains Raceway in Tasmania showed the faith the team has in the Gold Coast-native. “I’ve been racing in the BNTV8 Series in
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New Zealand over the summer break, which for a small category has provided me with some of the hardest racing I’ve experienced, and I’m quite enthusiastic about applying what I’ve learned to Super2,” he says.
Dylan O’Keefe Brodie Kostecki
DYLAN O’KEEFFE
O’Keeffe is in his first season in the Dunlop Super2 Series in 2019, taking over from reigning champion Chris Pither at Garry Rogers Motorsport. The Victorian has little experience in a Supercar, having come through the Porsche ranks from the Victorian 944 Cup to the Carrera Cup. 2018 was a breakout year for O’Keeffe with third in the Porsche Carrera Cup standings, earning him global recognition by representing Australia in the prestigious Porsche Motorsport Junior Programme Shootout. O’Keeffe now shapes as the next in a long line of drivers to grow under the tutelage of Garry Rogers, alongside teammate Mason Barbera.
BRYCE FULLWOOD
MW Motorsport has been home to some of the brightest talents in Australian motorsport over the last decade, having housed the likes of Chaz Mostert, Tim Slade, Jack Le Brocq, Garry Jacobson and more. Their latest talent is Bryce Fullwood, who hails from Darwin and is one of the more experienced drivers in the Dunlop Super2 Series, having competed in the category on a full-time basis since 2016. Fullwood made his main game debut in the 2018 PIRTEK Endurance Cup, teaming up with Todd Hazelwood in the Matt Stone Racing entry in what was an otherwise challenging season in the team’s Dunlop Super2 Series. A return to MW Motorsport has already paid dividends with a breakthrough Bryce Fullwood
Kurt Kostecki
win in the season-opening round in Adelaide in 2019, putting Fullwood back on the radar of main-game teams.
BRODIE KOSTECKI
The Kosteckis, Brodie, Kurt and Jake, have become ever-present in the Dunlop Super2 Series over the past couple of years. Brodie, cousin to brothers Kurt and Jake, is the least experienced of the three, having come from a different background to most Supercars-based drivers. He spent most of his years racing in the United States in USAC and stock cars all the way up to NASCAR’s fifth tier, the K&N Pro Series. Yet the eldest of the Western Australian trio has been the most successful of the three, becoming a regular on the podium following a breakout round win at Sandown in 2018.
Jake Kostecki
KURT KOSTECKI
Kurt Kostecki is now part of the new-look Triple Eight Dunlop Super2 Series team, making his debut in the series as a 16-yearold in 2014. He helped launch the Kostecki Brothers Racing with brother Jake in 2016, the same year Kurt made his main-game debut as an injury replacement for Lee Holdsworth with Team 18. He made two main-game wildcard appearances with the family-run team in 2018, though he joined Triple Eight’s two-car Dunlop Super2 Series team in 2019, having worked as a mechanic on Shane van Gisbergen’s car for the past few seasons.
JAKE KOSTECKI
The youngest of the Kosteckis, Jake, followed a similar path to brother Kurt, having come through the karting ranks and into the
The Kosteckis hail from Perth and have become regular contenders in the Dunlop Super2 Series with an eye on the main game. Kostecki Brothers Racing was formed in 2016. Cousins Brodie and Jake (top and bottom) are driving for the team in 2019, with Kurt at Triple Eight Race Engineering. SUPERCAR XTRA
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GENERATION CHANGE
Tyler Everingham
Kumho Tyre Super3 Series before stepping up to the Dunlop Super2 Series in 2016 with Kostecki Brothers Racing. With Kurt moving across to Triple Eight’s Dunlop Super2 Series team, Jake and cousin Brodie represent the family-run team to continue the upward trajectory of the Kosteckis.
BRENTON GROVE
Grove is a second-generation racer, following in the footsteps of father and Porsche Carrera Cup regular Stephen Grove. The Victorian has had stints in Australian Formula 4, Porsche GT3 Cup
Challenge and Porsche Carrera Cup before his move into the Dunlop Super2 Series with Triple Eight in 2019. Racing Craig Lowndes’ ex-Triple Eight VF Commodore with Triple Eight is a big opportunity for Grove to test himself against teammate Kurt Kostecki and show his talent in a touring car.
TYLER EVERINGHAM
Last year’s Kumho Tyre Super3 Series
champion Everingham is looking to make an impact in his first season in the Dunlop Super2 Series with MW Motorsport in 2019. Everingham has risen through the ranks of Australian motorsport over the past few years, going from Australian Formula 4 to touring cars, including a class title in Australian Production Cars at the age of 17. Teammates Bryce Fullwood and Zane Goddard will provide a good benchmark for the New South Welshman.
Joel Heinrich
Brenton Grove
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JOEL HEINRICH
Hamish Ribarits
The reigning Aussie Racing Cars champion has made the big step up into the Dunlop Super2 Series with Matt Stone Racing in 2019. Unlike many of his rivals, Heinrich’s background is in tin-top cars, having raced HQ Holdens, Nissan Pulsars and saloon cars. The South Australian is the son of five-times national saloon-car series winner Bruce Heinrich and hopes his production-car based background will help in his progression in Supercars. Zane Goddard
HAMISH RIBARITS
ZANE GODDARD
Gold Coaster Goddard comes from a strong open-wheeler background, having won races in the British Formula 4 championship and Renault Eurocup before returning to Australia with Brad Jones Racing last year. He proved to be a safe pair of hands, gradually getting quicker as the season went on. Goddard joined MW Motorsports in 2019 to continue his transition into touring cars.
Ribarits graduates from Formula Ford into a Supercar in 2019 after two successful seasons racing for Team Sonic Motor Racing Services. Ribarits will be hoping to follow a similar path to previous Sonic graduates Will Davison, David Reynolds, Nick Percat and Jamie Whincup by becoming a star in
Supercars. The Victorian is driving for MW Motorsport in the Kumho Tyre Super3 Series this season, replacing 2018 champion Tyler Everingham.
JORDAN BOYS
Boys made an immediate impression in his first outing in the Dunlop Super2 Series in 2017, impressively qualifying
JOSH FIFE
Fife is a karting star looking to make an impact in his very first season in a full-sized race car with Brad Jones Racing in the Kumho Tyre Super3 Series in 2019. Off the back of a stellar karting career that saw him become the youngest driver to win both the KZ2 and DD2 titles in the Australian Karting championship, the teenager from Canberra will be looking to repeat the success that Jack Smith has had over the past two seasons in the same car. Team owner Brad Jones says Fife has “great potential”, with the rebranded Kumho Tyre Super3 Series a natural step up.
Josh Fife
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GENERATION CHANGE
Jordan Boys
touring cars in the Kumho Tyre Super3 Series in 2017, taking round honours at Phillip Island in his first outing.
Madeline Stewart
BROC FEENEY
Feeney is looking to follow the path of Anton de Pasquale and Bryce Fullwood, moving into the Kumho Tyre Super3 Series with Paul Morris Motorsport this season. At just 15 years of age, Feeney was a consistent front-runner in the Toyota 86 Series and is the latest young driver identified and being coached by Bathurst 1000 winner Paul Morris. “He doesn’t have too many bad habits and when we identify any that he does, he listens and then he goes about correcting what we’ve identified,” says Morris. in fifth at Bathurst at his first attempt in a Supercar. The Albury-based racer is driving for Terry Wyhoon’s Image Racing outfit, following a decade of experience in karting before stints in Victorian and Australian Formula Ford. He stepped up into
MADELINE STEWART
Stewart teams with John Fife in Brad Jones Racing’s Kumho Tyre Super3 Series outfit in 2019. The New Zealand-born and now Melbourne-based racer has spent the best part of the last decade climbing through the karting ranks, and
she competed in the top-tier KZ2 class for the last two years. The third-generation racer now makes the big step up into a Supercar and aims to be the next female racer in the Virgin Australia Supercars Championship. Broc Feeney and mentor and team boss Paul Morris.
32
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PAGE 36
FEATURE: PETER BROCK’S FORD SOJOURN & THE STORY OF 1989
PAGE 42
THE YEAR THAT WAS: 1979
PAGE 46
ICONIC CARS: HOLDEN MONARO HT GTS350
PAGE 50
SNAPSHOT: THE ONLY WIN FOR THE GROUP A FORD MUSTANG SUPERCAR XTRA
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WORDS Cameron McGavin IMAGES Autopics.com.au
Thirty years ago the unthinkable happened in Australian touring cars; Holden legend Peter Brock joined the cavalcade of drivers racing the dominant Ford Sierra. We take a look back at the events of 1989, from the all-conquering Sierra to the driver who joined the enemy.
E
very Australian touring-car season has controversies but wind back the clock exactly 30 years and our sport – already on uncertain ground after several seasons of BMWs, Volvos, Nissans and funny European Fords doing all the winning – was being turned inside out and upside down by some previously unthinkable scenarios.
There was Tom Walkinshaw’s Holden Special Vehicles outfit choosing not to contest any Australian Touring Car Championship (ATCC) rounds, making 1989 the first and so far only ATCC since 1970 not to feature a factory-supported Holden on the grid. In any other year this might have been the most talked-about aspect of the season – just imagine it happening now – but it
wasn’t. For 1989 was also the year when Holden demi-god Peter Brock, out on his own following his bust-up with Holden and after an uncompetitive season racing BMW M3s, went and planted his bum in a Ford. Bond, Lowndes and Ingall to Ford, Moffat and Winterbottom to Holden. Big moves and big news. But Brock shackling up with the Blue Oval was the move to end them all.
Peter Brock made the shock switch to a Ford in 1989.
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THAT JONES BOY
Brad Jones was damn near unbeatable in Australian Superspeedway (he won six titles and is the only driver aside from Jim Richards to snare both an AUSCAR and NASCAR crown), a force in Super Touring (two more titles there), a production-car star before that and also managed to fit in an ATCC/ Supercar career with plenty of glittering moments, including four Bathurst podiums (1993, 1994, 2001, 2004). And a good deal of these deeds were done with the eponymous team he still runs with brother Kim out of his hometown of Albury, NSW. No surprise, then, that Jones can also count being teammate to the great Brock on his CV. As his new boss was grappling with the challenges of 1989, he was a young gun embarking on his first full ATCC season and cashing a regular paycheque for the first time in his career. Exciting stuff, even if – as Jones says now – he wasn’t really that young. “It was a bit different then,” he says. “You really didn’t get much of a start until you were 30. But I was definitely one of the younger guys in the system and, you know, Brock was Brock, so it was a big deal.” Of course, Jones’ relationship with Brock had started a long time before that. His father, heavily involved in running Hume Weir Raceway, was close to Brock. When Jones and brother Kim had needed a space to build their first AUSCAR in 1988, it was Brock who had come to the rescue. “Brock knew my Dad quite well and was my childhood hero, but I hadn’t had a lot to do with him until we started racing AUSCARs,” says Jones. “That was when I really started to get to know him. We were trying to finish our first AUSCAR car off, and he let us go down to Bertie Street and finish building it. We were there for three or four days. We’d work all day on the car and then sleep on the floor, and he was very helpful and generous with his time.” When Brock needed to fill the seat of his second car for 1989, Jones had been the right driver in the right place at the right time. “(Neil) Crompton and Richo (Jim Richards) were driving for Brock,” he says. “Jim had gone off to do his thing with Nissan and Neil was going over to drive at Walkinshaw’s, so there was an opportunity. Alan Gow was the boss in those days, and I’d built a bit of a relationship with him and Peter, and it all sort of fitted quite well. It was my first real run at the touring-car championship, so it was a great opportunity.” For Jones, it was a second chance at a
ABOVE: Mobile stayed loyal to Brock despite his controversial split with Holden in 1987 and disappointing season with BMW in 1988, providing naming-rights sponsorship to his Ford Sierra in 1989. Brock remained as popular as ever with his fans, including the author of this feature, who would continue to chase him for autographs in 1989 despite being a Holden supporter.
topline touring-car career after several promising years with Mitsubishi Ralliart Australia – highlighted by a Bathurst top-10 shootout appearance in 1986, 10thplace finish in 1988 and some racing in Japan – had come to nought. “The Mitsubishi days were fantastic,” he says. “But when that came to end, I didn’t feel it was my fault... well, it was difficult. So to get an opportunity with Brock was something I grabbed with both hands. It was good to get back into a touring car and show people what I felt I was capable of doing. It was really the catalyst for me to rebuild my career and move on in life.”
STARTING FROM SCRATCH
Brock’s Mobil 1 Racing team of 1989 was an operation in transition, having recently sold off its BMW M3s and bought two Ford Sierra Cosworth RS500s built by British Sierra guru Andy Rouse. “There was a lot going on,” says Jones. “He’d been through so much stuff; it was the third different car in three years, and we probably weren’t quite as well-funded as a lot of people thought. We didn’t have a lot of spares and we used to blow a lot of engines, so it was a little murkier from the inside than probably looked from the outside. But in the end I got to do most of the rounds and, while there were disappointments, we got some really good results.” Jones’ succinct assessment of how 1989
panned out is pretty bang-on. Contrary to pre-season expectations, Brock would quickly get on top of the Sierra and become the prime challenger to the Dick Johnson Racing team that had cleaned up all but a single ATCC round in 1988 and would again wrap up top two title positions in 1989. At the season-opener at Amaroo Park, Brock qualified on the front row alongside reigning champion Johnson before retiring early in the race with turbocharger issues. At round two at Symmons Plains, Brock scored pole (his first since the 1986) before finishing second behind Johnson. Then, after two fourths (Lakeside, Wanneroo) and a DNF (Mallala), he was back at the front at Sandown, shadowing Johnson the whole way to second. After another pole and second at a wet Winton, it all came together at the season finale at Oran Park, where he landed another pole before finally beating Johnson over a race distance. It was his first win since the previous year’s Pepsi 250 enduro at Oran Park and first ATCC victory since Surfers Paradise in 1986. Jones’ season, contrastingly, was cursed by bad luck. At Symmons he dropped out with a broken timing belt while running in the top five, at Lakeside he missed the restart because his Sierra’s oil cooler had been damaged by debris from the famously fiery accident that took out several cars and SUPERCAR XTRA
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Sierras everywhere off the start of the 1989 Tooheys Bathurst 1000.
Commodores were outnumbered and outperformed in 1989.
stopped the race, at Mallala he retired with CV-joint troubles, and a blown head gasket took him out at Sandown. And he didn’t even make the start at Oran Park owing to someone else’s testing snafu with his #105 Sierra (see breakout). But when his Sierra did hang together, he was there at the finish. At Amaroo, after starting from the back, he charged up to eighth. At a wet Wanneroo he finished just
two spots behind his boss (sixth). Then, at Winton, Jones went one place better, though he’s always considered it a missed opportunity. “It was a wet and dry day. George Fury and Brock were fighting it out and Mort (team manager Graeme Brown) decided to stop me early and put me onto slicks in damp conditions,” says Jones. “I’ve always felt it was so they could work out when it was good to put Brock onto slicks. By the time I got the temperature into the tyres, the car was quite fast, but then I dropped a wheel off into the water LEFT & BELOW: Peter Brock’s Mobil 1 Racing team featured a strong driver line-up that included Brad Jones, Paul Radisich and Andy Rouse at the Bathurst 1000.
38
with about three laps to go. Before that I’d been looking at a podium, which would have been nice to achieve so close to home.” Even with his Oran Park no-show, Jones still scraped home a respectable 10th in his maiden ATCC. And he was having fun while doing it. “Brock, Crompton, Gow and myself would laugh and giggle our way around the country,” says Jones. “Peter had been through a pretty torrid couple of years before I came around. I think he liked our humour! “God we used to laugh. We’d sit in the car when he went to a Mobil service station and watch him go and pay the bill. That was my first real snapshot of somebody really famous.”
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A strong grid of veterans, rising stars and internationals featured at Mount Panorama for the Bathurst 1000.
ROLLERCOASTER RIDE
At the first enduro of 1989 at Oran Park, Brock – sharing with Jones, who was still without a car – started from pole and stormed into the lead before a blown head gasket ended his day early. At the Sandown 500, Brock had a brand-new Sierra – this one built locally by Dencar rather than sourced from Rouse – a new teammate (Paul Radisich) and again led early on before striking mechanical woe (this time it was suspension-strut issues). He would later join Jones and teammate Mark Larkham in the second Mobil 1 Sierra and help them to finish seventh. And so to Bathurst, where Andy Rouse flew in from the UK to partner Brock in
the lead car (“He brought a suitcase full of gear with him,” says Jones), and the ninetimes winner scored the last of his record six Bathurst poles. He’d been naughty – discharging the underbonnet Halon fire extinguisher during his shootout lap to cool the intercooler and boost power, not technically illegal but something that saw him fined $5000 for unsporting behaviour – but the pole stood and he pocketed the $15,000 prize. It was an almost perfect Saturday for the team, which had watched Jones seal an impressive fifth in the shootout and also taken out the Esso Pit Stop Competition, pocketing another $20,000. But it all went south on the Sunday. Brock led off the line, but Johnson was
THE DAY BAZZA BINNED IT
Brad Jones was raring to go for the Oran Park round of the 1989 Australian Touring Car Championship after his fighting fifth at Winton. But when Supercars’ favourite larrikin, the late and much-missed Barry Sheene, pranged the #105 Sierra at a test day, he was forced onto the sidelines. “Well, they were trying him out for the enduros and he tore the car up, so I missed Oran Park,” says Jones, adding that he could never have held it against such a wonderful character. “He was such a fantastic guy, Baz. He had a really good heart. He just had a moment and speared off, but it did do a lot of damage to the car.”
Brock gave the dominant Dick Johnson Racing team its biggest challenge in 1989.
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past him within a lap and Klaus Niedzwiedz in the Allan Moffat Sierra got him soon after. Then Brock pitted early complaining of a vibration from the rear of the car. He rejoined 16th and climbed back up to third before handing over to Rouse. When he took over the car from Rouse in the same position, the show seemed to be back on track. But Brock was back in the pits soon after that with a loose right-rear wheel that stubbornly refused to part company with the hub. When it was finally removed, the damage meant there was no way to securely fit another wheel. Game over. Jones didn’t have it much better. His bad luck started when Gianfranco Brancatelli’s Sierra, running ahead of him, lost a front wheel, spraying fluids across the top of the Mountain. While he didn’t end up in the wall at Skyline like Glenn Seton, debris from that accident would cut his car’s brake line and force a long pit stop. In the end he and teammate Radisch would finish ninth, eight laps down. Jones’ ultimately unfulfilling run in the Mobil 1 Sierra continued at the Adelaide GP supports (another DNF and a 10th) and December’s Nissan-Mobil 500 at Wellington (DNF). And with the sheer cost of running Sierras forcing Brock into a partnership with fellow Sierra racer Andrew Mediecke for 1990, he was about to find himself at another career crossroads. “It was hard just to get an opportunity in those days, and you were very much the second driver in the second car,” he says. “You just had to be patient, wait your turn, chip away at it and do a good job. But it was a really interesting year and I learned a lot. And from there I did end up as co-driver at HRT (Holden Racing Team), which was good for my career as well.” That intense, up and down and occasionally successful 1989 with the Mobil 1 Racing team also resulted in a closer relationship with the man who’d once been his childhood hero. “He was my boss and teammate, and the first person you want to beat is your teammate, so I was always trying as hard as I could to get the job done,” says Jones. “But we ended up with a really good relationship. Even in the mid-1990s when we were racing Super Tourers against each other – I was in the Audi, he was in the Volvo – we had a great relationship. It was pretty cool to be able to drive in a team with your childhood hero, then form a relationship and become friends.” 40
1989 RACE RESULTS CIRCUIT
Amaroo Park Symmons Plains Raceway Lakeside International Raceway Wanneroo Park Mallala Motor Sport Park Sandown Raceway Winton Motor Raceway Oran Park Raceway
WINNER
John Bowe Dick Johnson Dick Johnson John Bowe Dick Johnson Dick Johnson George Fury Peter Brock
CHAMPIONSHIP TOP 10
POSITION
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
DRIVER
Dick Johnson John Bowe Peter Brock Jim Richards Tony Longhurst George Fury Glenn Seton Colin Bond Mark Skaife Brad Jones
CAR
Ford RS500 Sierra Ford RS500 Sierra Ford RS500 Sierra Nissan Skyline HR31 GTS-R Ford RS500 Sierra Nissan Skyline HR31 GTS-R Ford RS500 Sierra Ford RS500 Sierra Nissan Skyline HR31 GTS-R Ford RS500 Sierra
BATHURST 1000 TOP 10
POSITION
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
CAR
Ford RS500 Sierra Ford RS500 Sierra Ford RS500 Sierra Ford RS500 Sierra Ford RS500 Sierra Ford RS500 Sierra Nissan Skyline HR31 GTS-R Ford RS500 Sierra
DRIVERS
Dick Johnson & John Bowe Klaus Niedzwiedz & Frank Biela Jim Richards & Mark Skaife George Fury & Anders Olofsson Alan Jones, Denny Hulme & Tony Longhurst Larry Perkins & Tomas Mezera Win Percy & Neil Crompton Jeff Allam & Robb Gravett Brad Jones & Paul Radisich Allan Grice & Peter Janson
CAR
Ford RS500 Sierra Ford RS500 Sierra Nissan Skyline HR31 GTS-R Nissan Skyline HR31 GTS-R Ford RS500 Sierra Holden VL Commodore SS Group A SV Holden VL Commodore SS Group A SV Ford RS500 Sierra Ford RS500 Sierra Holden VL Commodore SS Group A SV
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BROCK / MOFFAT HOLDEN VK COMMODORE 1986 WELLINGTON 500 WINNER
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WORDS Adrian Musolino IMAGES Autopics.com.au, Supplied
WHEN DAVID BEAT GOLIATH After losing out to Holden hero Peter Brock by just two points in 1978, Bob Morris fought back the following year to claim one of the great underdog victories in the history of the Australian Touring Car Championship. But come the Bathurst 1000, Brock and co-driver Jim Richards were in a league of their own.
I
t’s not often the underdogs prevail over the favourites in motorsport. So when Sydneysider Bob Morris in the privately-run Ron Hodgson Motors entry came within two points of winning the 1978 Australian Touring Car Championship over Peter Brock in the factory-backed Holden Dealer Team entry, it was considered a shock. Brock had made a triumphant return to the Holden Dealer Team in 1978 following
42
three years in exile in privateer entries, winning the championship and Bathurst 1000, and looked set to dominate in 1979 with the Holden LX Torana SS A9X at its peak and Ford withdrawing its support for the likes of Allan Moffat. But Brock and the Holden Dealer Team couldn’t count against the determination of Morris, his former co-driver from Bathurst in 1970, popular winner of the Great Race in 1976 and thorn in the side of the factory entries.
Brock and Morris were the obvious favourites, with Moffat in the process of disbanding his Moffat Ford Dealers Team, leaving the multiple championship and Bathurst winner committed to the odd round and former teammate Colin Bond without a drive. With the new four-door Holden Commodore set to debut in 1980, the 1979 season would be the swansong for the Torana, the nameplate that had carried the General
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Motors brand to so many successes in the 1970s. And with no Ford support for the Falcons, it was a Torana demonstration. The tone was set at the opener at Symmons Plains Raceway. Brock took pole with Morris alongside on the front row, then the Holden runners tangled on the second lap of the race. Brock dropped down the field but salvaged fifth, while Morris’ lead was short-lived when he suffered gearbox problems and fell to fourth. John Harvey in the second Holden Dealer Team entry emerged as the winner, with Allan Grice and Garth Wigston rounding out the podium in their privateer Toranas. Brock fought back at the second round at Calder Park Raceway by taking a comfortable race win ahead of Morris in second. The domination of Holden was complete with all classified finishers driving Toranas. Morris returned serve at the next round at Oran Park Raceway, winning his first race of the season despite a gearbox problem that slowed him in the final few laps. Brock also encountered gearbox issues, though he took third behind Grice, with Harvey protecting his teammate in fourth. Brock and Morris went wheel-to-wheel for the win at Sandown, exchanging the lead in the opening stages before Brock dropped back with fading brakes. Harvey took up the fight to Morris but spun out following an attempted pass for the lead. Morris won to take the championship advantage, helped by Brock finishing third. Brock needed to respond at Wanneroo
Park and did just that, claiming the win despite a number of off-track excursions and late pressure from Grice. And with Grice and Harvey finishing ahead of Morris, the championship battle had closed up with three rounds remaining. At Surfers Paradise, local driver Dick Johnson threw a spanner in the works by qualifying his XC Falcon Cobra on the front row and leading in the early stages. However, his Falcon ran out of rubber and he was forced into a late pitstop, handing the lead to Charlie O’Brien. Brock closed in on the privateer and snatched the lead and win on the final lap, a valuable win, with Morris once again down in fourth. Brock had a sixpoint margin over Morris and recent form suggested it would be a repeat of 1978. But Morris bounced back at the penultimate round at Lakeside with a vital win to keep his championship alive, helped by a poor start, worn-out tyres and a time penalty for a push start for Brock, leaving him in fifth. Harvey and O’Brien rounded out the podium and took valuable points off Brock. Johnson’s misfortune continued with a wheel failure in his second consecutive outing, though he had shown he belonged on the national stage. The championship decider would again be held at Adelaide International Raceway, where the previous year Brock had prevailed over Morris after the latter went for an all-or-nothing pass and lost out. Harvey was also in contention for the championship, and the two Holden Dealer
Team entries going up against the Ron Hodgson Motors entry set up an intriguing scenario. Brock took pole but the race belonged to Morris, who secured the title with a comfortable win. Brock and Harvey finished well behind in second and third. The podium for the final race reflected the top three in the championship standings. Peter Williamson, racing a Toyota Celica, was fourth and the top entrant for the under three-litre cars class. Remarkably, the top Ford in the championship was Roger Cartwright’s Escort RS2000 Mk 1 under three-litre class entry. Morris had achieved redemption following the previous season and added a championship to his Bathurst win of 1976, a remarkable double for him and the team considering their privateer status. Morris added to his success with victory in the AMSCAR Series at Amaroo Park, where he was joined by Moffat in a onetime outing with Ron Hodgson Motors. Morris’ luck would run out in the endurance events, though, starting with a retirement at the Sandown 400 won by Brock. Grice and O’Brien continued the domination of the Torana with wins in the Adelaide 250 and Surfers Paradise 300 respectively, and a Holden whitewash was well and truly expected entering the Bathurst 1000 at Mount Panorama. Brock and co-driver Jim Richards had won Bathurst by a one-lap margin in 1978 and shaped as the favourites. Moffat
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returned to a Falcon in his own entry alongside John Fitzpatrick, who won the race alongside Morris in 1976, while other notable Ford entries included Johnson/ Gary Scott, Bond/John French, John Goss/Henri Pescarolo and Murray Carter/ Graeme Lawrence. But given recent form, it was hard to see Ford overcoming Holden. Brock took pole ahead of Morris and Grice, while Moffat qualified a controversial fourth after being promoted into the top-10 shootout despite qualifying 22nd, bumping Harvey out of the one-lap dash for pole. While the official reason for the promotion was that there shouldn’t be two entries from the same team in the shootout, there was pressure from Channel Seven to have Moffat in the session. Overnight rain leading into the race left teams scrambling in terms of their tyre choices, with Brock cleverly using a pre-race demonstration run to gauge track conditions. He used this knowledge to his advantage, racing away from the field in the early laps and holding the buffer when intermittent rain started at the midway point of the race. It didn’t all go the Holden Dealer Team’s way, with the Harvey/Ron Harrop entry crashing out, though Brock and Richards’ advantage grew when Morris and co-driver Dieter Quester retired after a troubled run with various technical problems. Grice’s chances ended when co-driver Alfredo Costanzo hit the wall, while a valiant charge from Moffat ended with oil-pressure issues approaching the final stint of the race. With Johnson, Bond, Goss and co having retired earlier, it was a bleak day for Blue Oval fans. Brock and Richards had no such problems and the unreliability of their rivals, left the reigning race winners with a six-lap margin. Despite having the win in the bag, Brock stamped his authority on the race by beating Moffat’s lap record on the final lap of the race with a 2:21.1 time. It was a Torana demonstration; they rounded out the top-eight places, just missing out on the best result for a make/car in the race held by the Morris Cooper S that filled the top-nine places in 1966. The best Falcon was in 14th, behind a trio of Alfa Romeo Alfetta GTVs and a Mazda RX-3. The Torana had gone out in style, with its record winning margin of six laps unlikely to ever be beaten. It had been a perfect year for Holden: a sweep of all championship and endurance rounds and a dominant Bathurst win for its lead driver, even though the title itself belonged to a privateer hero. 44
1979 RACE RESULTS CIRCUIT
Symmons Plains Raceway Calder Park Raceway Oran Park Raceway Sandown Raceway Wanneroo Park Surfers Paradise Raceway Lakeside International Raceway Adelaide International Raceway
WINNER
CHAMPIONSHIP TOP 10
POSITION
1 2 3 4 5= 5= 7 8= 8= 10= 10=
DRIVER
Bob Morris Peter Brock John Harvey Peter Williamson Charlie O’Brien Roger Cartwright Allan Grice Garth Wigston Lawrie Nelson Brian Hall Steve Masterton
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
DRIVERS
Holden LX Torana SS A9X Holden LX Torana SS A9X Holden LX Torana SS A9X Holden LX Torana SS A9X Holden LX Torana SS A9X Holden LX Torana SS A9X Holden LX Torana SS A9X Holden LX Torana SS A9X
CAR
Holden LX Torana SS A9X Holden LX Torana SS A9X Holden LX Torana SS A9X Toyota Celica Holden LX Torana SL/R 5000 A9X Ford Escort RS2000 Mk 1 Holden LX Torana SS A9X Holden LX Torana SS A9X Ford Capri Mk I Toyota Celica Ford Capri V6
BATHURST 1000 TOP 10
POSITION
CAR
John Harvey Peter Brock Bob Morris Bob Morris Peter Brock Peter Brock Bob Morris Bob Morris
CAR
Peter Brock/Jim Richards Holden LX Torana SS A9X Peter Janson/Larry Perkins Holden LX Torana SS A9X Ralph Radburn/John Smith Holden LX Torana SL/R 5000 A9X Allan Grice/Alfredo Costanzo Holden LX Torana SS A9X Garry Rogers/Bob Stevens Holden LX Torana SS A9X Alan Taylor/Kevin Kennedy Holden LX Torana SS A9X Barry Seton/Don Smith Holden LX Torana SS A9X Charlie O’Brien/Garth Wigston Holden LX Torana SS A9X Peter Williamson/Mike Quinn Toyota Celica Phil McDonnell/Derek Bell Alfa Romeo Alfetta GTV
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ICONIC
CARS When we think of successful Holdens in Australian touring cars it’s Toranas and Commodores that come to mind. But it was the Monaro that scored the brand’s first Australian Touring Car Championship and Bathurst 500/1000 wins, with the iconic HT GTS 350 claiming both titles across 1969 and 1970.
T
he Ford versus Holden rivalry in Australian touring cars truly came alive in 1968 when underdog Bruce McPhee and co-driver Barry Mulholland (who drove just one lap) won the Bathurst 500, leading a Holden top-three sweep. A year earlier Ford had scored the first win for a V8-powered car in the Mount Panorama endurance race, so Holden’s response gave birth to a rivalry that continues to this day. But while McPhee and Mulholland’s win with the HK Monaro GTS 327 will go down as the first win for
Holden, it was the upgraded HT Monaro GTS 350 that truly marked Holden’s arrival as a major player. The HT Monaro GTS 350 first appeared in mid-1969 and represented an evolution over the HK, featuring a 300bhp (224kW) Chevrolet 350 5.7-litre V8. The engine upgrade was in response to the release of Ford’s XW Falcon GTHO Phase I in 1969, which was powered by the 351 Windsor 5.8-litre V8 engine. By now V8 power was deemed the only option for the Australianmade cars on the race-track. There were also some minor styling
changes to the new Monaro, but it was the arrival of a new team to run the HT that would have the biggest change. The Holden Dealer Team was created by long-time Ford works boss/driver Harry Firth in 1969 to replicate the success the Blue Oval had with one powerhouse team, with the HT Monaro GTS 350 the weapon to launch the new-look outfit at the 1969 Bathurst 500. The Holden Dealer Team entered three cars, with Firth handpicking a number of rising stars to drive the HT Monaro GTS 350s: Peter Macrow and Henk Woelders in the #42, Peter Brock and Des West in
Beechey heading to victory at Bathurst in his championship-winning year of 1970.
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the #43 and Colin Bond and Tony Roberts in the #44. With McPhee and Mulholland switching to a Falcon due to a lack of support from Holden and the Ford works team featuring a formidable line-up that included brothers Ian and Leo Geoghegan and its own rising star Allan Moffat, the expectations of defending the title for Holden fell on this new team. The new team would deliver when Bond and Roberts claimed the win. There was an element of good fortune, with the Ford works entries plagued by tyre troubles, leaving its best-placed entries off the podium in fourth and fifth, but the Holden Dealer Team had all three of its entries in the top six, with Brock and West joining Bond and Roberts on the podium. The Bathurst champs backed up with a win in the Surfers Paradise 12 Hour race in January 1970, proving the success at Mount Panorama was no fluke. The HT Monaro GTS 350 was proving to be the car to have. 1965 Australian Touring Car Championship winner Norm Beechey upgraded from the HK Monaro GTS 327 for 1970, increasing the capacity of the engine from 5.7 to six litres, producing 550bhp. Beechey made a disappointing start to the season at Calder Park after a tangle with a lapped car left him down the order, though he bounced back with victories at Bathurst and Sandown to put some pressure on four-time champion Ian Geoghegan and opening-round winner Moffat. Geoghegan and his Ford Mustang won the fourth round at Mallala ahead of Beechey, while Beechey’s teammate Jim
The 1969 Bathurst-winning HT Monaro GTS 350.
McKeown in a Porsche 911S won the following round at Warwick Farm to enter championship contention. But Beechey won the penultimate round at Lakeside, holding off Jane in the final stages. A retirement to Geoghegan handed the championship to the Monaro racer. It marked the first championship win for Holden, courtesy of a driver who had won the title for Ford five years earlier. The new champion didn’t need to enter the final round at Symmons Plains, where a win for McKeown secured a one-two finish for the Shell-backed team. Beechey continued racing the HT Monaro GTS 350 in 1971 and 1972, though unreliability dented his chances of
securing another championship, dropping to fifth in 1971 and ending his season prematurely in 1972. Increased competition from Moffat’s Ford Boss 302 Mustang and Jane’s Chevrolet Camaro left the once-mighty Monaro struggling to keep pace. The Australian Touring Car Championship and new-look Bathurst 1000 ran under the same technical regulations for the first time in 1973, with the end of the Improved Production rulebook and creation of a new production-based Group C class ending the reign of the Monaro, Mustang and Camaro. The Holden Dealer Team would grow from strength to strength and take the fight to Ford’s Falcon with its pint-sized Toranas. While they were a far cry from the musclecar Monaro, the success of the HT Monaro GTS 350 would lay the foundations for Holden’s future successes.
HT GTS 350
SUCCESSES
Beechey claimed his second title in 1970.
1969 Bathurst 500: Colin Bond & Tony Roberts 1970 Surfers Paradise 12 Hour: Colin Bond & Tony Roberts 1970 Australian Touring Car Championship: Norm Beechey SUPERCAR XTRA
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WHO? DICK JOHNSON WHAT? FORD MUSTANG GROUP A WHEN? NOVEMBER 2, 1985 WHERE? ADELAIDE STREET CIRCUIT, SA
WHY?
The first Formula 1 world championship Australian Grand Prix took place in Adelaide in 1985. The Australian touring-car fraternity took part in a non-championship race on the Saturday of the event in an opportunity for the local racers to put on a show in front of the international visitors. 50
Dick Johnson won the 15-lap contest in his Ford Mustang, the only win for the Group A-spec version of the pony car in Australia. Peter Brock in a Holden VK Commodore Group A and Charlie O’Brien in a BMW 635 CSi completed the podium. The field also included Austrian F1 driver Gerhard Berger, who drove a Bob Jane T-Marts-backed BMW 635 CSi, though his race ended on the third lap following a tangle with John Harvey’s VK Commodore. Thirty-four years later Scott McLaughlin, in the same entry as Johnson, won the first race for the Ford Mustang Supercar on the Adelaide street circuit.
SUPERCAR XTRA
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d clude not in Chain
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Available in two alternative finishes. One is highly polished with a diamond etched background and the other highly polished with a darkened finish around the edges. These Bathurst pendant designs are available as solid sterling silver, brass or bronze.
Bathurst pendants to be worn on a chain or used on a keyring. Chain/keyring not included.
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Interview
52
WIT H SE A N SE A MER – SUPERCA RS CEO
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WORDS Adrian Musolino IMAGES Peter Norton
It’s a massive year for the Virgin Australia Supercars Championship with the arrival of the Ford Mustang, the likely switch to a summer-based schedule, the impending creation of a manufacturers’ council and the next media-rights deal on the horizon. We sat down with Supercars CEO Sean Seamer for an in-depth interview on the state of the series in 2019. t a time when New Zealanders are dominating Supercars on track, it’s fitting that one of them is steering the ship off track. Sean Seamer hails from Whitford, Auckland, and had stints working in business and advertising in America, the United Kingdom, Singapore and Australia, settling in the latter and becoming Supercars CEO in 2018. The 2019 season marks Seamer’s first full-time year in charge of Supercars, at a time when Ford returns in an official capacity to take on old rivals Holden with the new Mustang. We chatted with Seamer at the seasonopening Superloop Adelaide 500 for a state of the union on Supercars in 2019. Where do you see Supercars at in 2019? Yeah, look, we’re really, really happy with how last year went. Attendances were good, even with a bit of bad weather towards the back end of the year. We were really happy with how the TV ratings went, up 16 per cent on Fox Sports, so very happy with that. Obviously, we came into this year knowing we couldn’t sit still. We’ve got to keep doing things differently, tweaking things, improving things to keep people engaged and get people to keep coming back. Every
Holden and Ford are the cornerstone of Australian touring cars and have both recently recommitted to Supercars.
year we’re trying to move forward, and that’s what we’re doing this year. So, yeah, good year last year, not resting on our laurels this year. Fundamentally, the core product is very good but, like I say, you have to keep moving things on to keep people coming back. The big off-season story was the arrival of the Ford Mustang Supercar. How important is it that Ford recommitted to the series? Yeah, the Mustang appeals to multiple generations of people. And because of that it gives us the opportunity to engage people with a relevant product for all ages. And
that’s what is most important about its arrival first of all. And it’s important as well that Ford and Holden are both represented given their heritage in the series and popularity with the fans. Yeah, absolutely. It’s great that Ford’s put a lot of time and effort and energy into this, so we’ve got to thank them for that. And Holden’s really engaged as well. So I think that’s really, really positive. And that’s good momentum to start the season. There’s been a lot of talk about how two-door coupes such as the Mustang SUPERCAR XTRA
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WIT H SE A N SE A MER – SUPERCA RS CEO
Ford has re-engaged with Supercars to promote the Mustang in Australia.
fit over the control chassis. Is changing that design on the agenda? We’re looking at what the car looks like for 2021, and we’re working backwards from how we can maximise market relevance. And, therefore, what we need to do from an engineering point of view to make that happen, so those discussions are on the agenda. Is attracting new manufacturers still a focal point for Supercars? Yeah, it is because I go back to if we want the maximum market relevance going forward, what would we need to do now to get there? We need an amazing and wellrounded series for a manufacturer to take advantage of off the back of being involved with a Supercars team. And with SuperUtes, Toyota 86s and Bathurst 12 Hour, manufacturers are being engaged by Supercars in different ways than just the main series. Yeah, we’ve got great relationships with everybody from Volkswagen and Audi all the way through to Porsche and Toyota, and that’s what makes this feel like a travelling motor show. And we enjoy that. There were two licenses parked in 2019. Is the aim to get the grid back up to 26 cars or consolidate at 24? We don’t have a magic number in mind as 54
it’s obviously a combination of different factors. The sport seems to be settling around the two-car team model, even though different team owners have different points of view on what the right model is. We want to make sure that we work with the interested parties around the timing and construct of that. There’s no deadline. We’ll just do the right thing by the interested parties and the owners of those licenses. Cost cutting was another focus of the off-season with the ban of twinspring dampers and arrival of a new transaxle. How crucial is that costcutting process for teams? Well, it’s a start. I think a lot of the lowhanging fruit was dealt with some years ago. But every year costs go up, so if you do nothing different things still become more expensive. You have to constantly stay on top of that to make sure that you’re looking at avenues to make sure that people can enjoy the sport and it’s a viable business model for the teams. And it fits in with keeping parity as well; keeping the teams competitive. Yeah, exactly. I think sometimes you have those positive add-on benefits of those things, and you just got to be transparent about what we think is primarily levelling
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a playing field, what’s a slight cost saving and what’s genuinely cost saving as you go through that process. How close is Supercars to deciding on a summer-based schedule change? And what are the benefits? Absolutely we are looking at how do we go racing in better weather patterns, how do we minimise our overlap with the NRL and AFL and get places like Tassie, Auckland and other places where it’s a bit chilly sometimes into better weather. It also helps us with our scheduling. Obviously, we can do more twilight racing, we can do more night racing, and it means that people can do what they need to do with their family and their kids on a Saturday and can come to the track that night and enjoy the racing. So it means that there’s less trade-offs that people are having to make in their entertainment schedules as well. If that’s the case, getting the timing of the events in terms of dates, weather and schedule is crucial. Yeah, absolutely. I think that all of our events have their own character and enable us to do different things. But when you go
into a better window and you’ve got more daylight it gives you the flexibility to innovate and do things differently, like we’re doing in Perth this year. That calendar change will lead into the next media-rights deal. Is the timing of this change so you can go to the market with a summer-based series?
The broadcasters are obviously going to ask us what the shape of the championship looks like over the next five to 10 years as a part of partnering up with us on, so we absolutely need to get that locked down. Trying to lock down a new-look calendar sooner rather than later will help the entire ecosystem know what’s going on with Supercars moving forward.
“WE’VE GOT TO KEEP DOING THINGS DIFFERENTLY, TWEAKING THINGS, IMPROVING THINGS TO KEEP PEOPLE ENGAGED AND GET PEOPLE TO KEEP COMING BACK.” – SEAN SEAMER
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Interview
WIT H SE A N SE A MER – SUPERCA RS CEO
LEFT: Seamer with fellow New Zealander Greg Murphy on the grid at the 2019 Superloop Adelaide 500. BOTTOM: Supercars looks set for a switch to a summerbased schedule from next season.
and money to expend on entertainment, and if we’re able to reduce the number of choices that we’re competing against, then hopefully that will be enough for us. Motorsport is best enjoyed on a sunny day, so we don’t have the same challenges as other codes in terms of how their schedules and their seasons ladder down into youth programs, etc. We also don’t have the luxury of being able to play in any weather. We don’t have stadiums, so weather’s really important for us. We’re just trying to do the right thing by us and our fans so that more people can enjoy us more of the time.
Are you happy with the current balance between pay-television and freeto-air television coverage? Yeah, I think we’ve got to look at this as a way of not fading away on pay TV or streaming, but how do we make sure that we’re working with our partners to put our content in as many homes as possible? For example, Kayo is an absolutely fantastic product. We’re getting to a point now where for $25 a month you can get Supercars and more sports live and ondemand. I would think that for the people that have struggled paying for content, that’s a tipping point now where they will have a really big impact on sports and Supercars consumption. What’s cool about that is that we can start customising different feeds. People could interact with a car, so, for example, if you’ve got two favourite drivers, you could watch them both simultaneously, head to their in-car feeds and you can really build a quick, unique and engaging experience around it as well. So, for our core fans, we think that’s a pretty trick product.
what we have: the sounds, everything that’s going on here over a weekend and more is unique. We’re proud of that. But by the same token you’ve got to appreciate that people only give a limited amount of time
Finally, what’s the overall message to Supercars fans for 2019? What we want for our fans is for them to enjoy the sport in more ways than what they have before. We want our fans to experiment with Kayo. We want them to enter an e-sports championship. We want them to watch some of our new programming. We want them to come to an event and enjoy a concert, soaking up everything we have to offer because, yes, there’s the core product, but there’s an awful lot more that goes with it as well.
So where do you see Supercars in the Australian sporting landscape in 2019, especially in the context of the summer move? I think we are a unique experience with 56
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COUPE SUPERCARS
WORDS Andrew Clarke IMAGES Ben Auld, Peter Norton, Walkinshaw Andretti United
The arrival of the Ford Mustang and the possibility of the Camaro following suit has put the spotlight on how two-door coupes fit over the current Supercars control chassis. Here’s a look at the issues around the tight fit and what could change.
T
he automotive world is changing. The biggest selling cars in Australia are utes. If you aren’t buying a ute, you are most likely looking to a small car. The big four-door sedans have been in decline for some time. Coupes such as the Mustang and Camaro were the natural replacements for the Falcon and Commodore, which is reflected in Supercars. That is why we are having this discussion now. The Mustang Supercar is the first incarnation, but it’s highlighted what needs to be fixed.
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Allowing the Mustang in for this year’s title race was not without its issues, and when the covers were taken off the look of the Supercar raised some concerns. It had been pulled here, tucked there and the skin of the car essentially stretched to fit the control chassis. For some, the road car had lost its presence. It was no longer wide and squat like a real coupe. The powers that be are starting to think there is something in the two-door way of the world. The Mustang has created massive interest in areas outside of the normal
BELOW: The new Ford Mustang Supercar.
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Supercars domain, and chances are Gen3 of the Car of the Future will look different to what we see today. Supercars CEO Sean Seamer has hinted as much, at a time when Walkinshaw Andretti United boss Ryan Walkinshaw said he was stopping work on the Camaro with the look of the Mustang having put him off. “The process that we are going through right now is trying to make sure we have enduring market relevance in what we are racing out there and we have the most opportunity for a different number of marques,” he says. “We have got about 20 different CAD files that the technical department are working through and dropping those files on the chassis and seeing what changes
“WE’VE BEEN REALLY CLEAR THAT OUR AMBITIONS ARE TO RACE A CAMARO IN SUPERCARS...” RYAN WALKINSHAW
would need to be made to accommodate the maximum number of vehicles. “This is a process where we are doing some work right now, but we really need to take this back to our OEM manufacturer partners to get their feedback on what that looks like. “We are just doing a bit of grunt work right now to understand what the opportunities might be and we can take that back [to manufacturers] and get their feedback on that, and make sure what we are doing and what we are looking to do has longevity.” Walkinshaw’s thoughts were interesting, and given his Holden Special Vehicles (HSV) is importing the
BELOW: The road-going version of the Camaro and the ZB Commodore Supercar.
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Camaro you can bet he wanted it on the track as quickly as he could, just not within the current constraints. “We’ve been really clear that our ambitions are to race a Camaro in Supercars but currently with the chassis and the roll hoop where it is, you’d have to bastardise the aesthetics of the car so much, as you’ve seen with the Mustang,” says Walkinshaw. “For us, particularly as the people who are bringing the Camaro in with Holden, we’ve got a significant incentive, that any of our marketing, particularly on the race track, want to ensure that the race car represents the aesthetic integrity of the road. “So, if and when Supercars change the roll hoops, change the chassis to allow more two-door exciting products into the category we’ll be exploring that opportunity again. At the moment it’s dormant because we’re waiting to see what happens with the chassis. They’re (Supercars) investigating from what my understanding is. We’re obviously pushing that because we’d like to open that door.” Even those at Ford who’ve just jumped through hoops with the current Mustang are keen to look at changes. Ford’s global racing director Mark Rushbrook expressed support for Supercars’ current study. “We definitely understand the rules we had to deal with to get the Mustang on the track like it is today, we have a good understanding for that,” says Rushbrook. “For sure when a change is made on that magnitude [roof height], even though it may seem small, its big in terms of the general effect. We have some understanding of where we would like to see it go and maybe when. They are taking the right approach to study and understand across different OEMs what is best for the future of the series and then to work with partners to work out how to get there and when.” Holden, just like Nissan, Volvo, Erebus Motorsport with the AMG Mercedes-Benz and Ford with the Mustang, have gone through the same process of getting a car that doesn’t fit to fit. In 2003 Project Blueprint defined the cars that were 60
raced in a tighter fashion than previously. This was the first big step towards controlling the physicality of the cars. Previous Supercars had to be modified a little to fit the dimensions. All of a sudden, then, the Commodore had to run the front suspension from a Falcon and the running gear was standardised in many other ways, except the engine. Next came the Car of the Future from 2013, when the sport essentially moved into a silhouette category. The chassis was standard and sat on a control floorpan. All you had to do was make the body and panels fit and find a V8 engine to use to go racing. The goal was to bring other manufacturers in: Ford and, to a lesser degree Holden, could not be the only custodians of the category with their local manufacturing plants closing. Erebus decided it wanted to race an AMG Mercedes-Benz. Nissan was in too with a set of Altimas out of Kelly Racing. Then Volvo joined the party with the most radical Supercar yet, the much smaller S60. Now, the Mercedes has gone, Volvo has gone and Nissan has withdrawn its factory backing. To top it off, the Falcon was retired and the Commodore was now a European hatchback. Something had to change. Twodoor cars were now allowed and Ford was going to get the Mustang up and running. When you see it in the flesh you don’t notice the stretched wheelbase or longer body, but there is the high roof line. And that is perhaps all Walkinshaw could see, especially given the Camaro is shorter and lower again. The solution isn’t that complex. The rules could easily be rewritten to drop the height of the car and the roll cage would need to be redesigned to drop the roll hoop. Then, as with the current cars, it’s simply about getting the aero balance right. Most car brands have a big two-door coupe. And, with engine options opened up since the implementation of the Gen2 rules, there are alternatives. Lowering the control chassis and making it more coupe-friendly seems a given with the future clearly for Mustangs, Camaros and the like in Supercars.
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The Holden ZB Commodore (above) and Ford Mustang (below) Supercars. Note the different shape, size and profile of the four-door Commodore versus the two-door Mustang, the latter the first two-door coupe to be fitted over the Supercars control chassis.
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LEE HOLDSWORTH
WORDS John Bannon IMAGES Tickford Racing, Ben Auld, Peter Norton, Justin Deeley
It was one of the stories of 2018, Ford stalwart Mark Winterbottom’s speculated and eventual defection to Holden’s Team 18 for 2019. The move left Lee Holdsworth scrambling to secure one of the few remaining seats for this season. In the final wash up, the veterans effectively traded places, securing Holdsworth’s longawaited move to Tickford Racing and a seat in the new Ford Mustang Supercar.
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hen you ask drivers what their goals are for the season, the answers are usually pretty standard. If you’re a rookie, they’ll say top 15 in the championship would be an excellent result. If you’re an established driver, they’re always looking to finish in the top 10. If you see yourself as a championship contender, nothing less than the top five will do. But if you’re 36-year-old Lee Holdsworth, you give a different answer; an answer that shows the utmost respect for not only the opportunity you’ve been presented with but also for the company you’re now keeping. The multiple Supercars race winner is not aiming for a number but to keep close company with Tickford Racing star and new stablemate Chaz Mostert. “Well, I think Chaz is the benchmark,” he admits. “Obviously, looking at the results over the last couple of years, he has really set the standard and it seems the development has benefited him… Chaz has set the bar pretty high at the team. I think we’ll all be striving to get to that.” Holdsworth’s arrival at Tickford Racing has been a long time coming. He is a product of renowned talent-spotter Garry Rogers, who drafted Holdsworth in for his first full-time season in 2006. The now Mustang racer is believed to have had different options on the table at the end of the 2011 season but ultimately settled with former championshipwinning squad Stone Brothers Racing (SBR). “I’m excited, I’ve been wanting to be with this team for quite some time,” says Holdsworth. “Now I want to take this opportunity with both hands and hopefully make something of it. I think with the team, from an outsider looking in, they were probably at a point where they needed a bit of a shuffle-up. And with Will [Davison] and myself moving in there and also the Mustang coming along, I think it provides a bit of a fresh start for the team and a bit of a reset.” However, Holdsworth has seen the newcar script before. After a strong first season in a Ford Falcon at SBR in 2012, the team morphed into Erebus Motorsport with an uncompetitive customer AMG Mercedes-Benz package in 2013 that saw Holdsworth go from front-runner to
backmarker. But the father of two believes it will be a completely different story this time around. “Everyone is excited about the Mustang,” he says. “With the aero it should be a step up from what Tickford had. I think they’ll have four drivers who’ll work well together and push the team forward.” While excited to be working with the Mustang package, Holdsworth says that wasn’t the reason he jumped at the chance to join Tickford Racing. “To be honest, I just want to be with a good team, a professional team,” he says. “I want to be with a team that has good teammates. I’ve been missing out on looking at data and getting the technical support for the cars and from other drivers. Now I’ve got that support. “It’s what I’ve really been looking for, for quite some time now. So that will be a huge relief. It was more about that and just being with a professional outfit. And, yeah, the Mustang is a bonus.” Holdsworth also took time to reflect on his stint at Team 18, which after a positive start appeared to lose direction. An unfortunate crash at Darwin in 2016 left Holdsworth on the sidelines for a time, which didn’t help matters either. “We had a good bunch of guys there and the staff were great,” he says. “We had some smart people and some very good mechanics. I think there was a bit of chopping and changing with the engineering. The philosophy changed a lot over the years. The first year we had an alliance with Triple Eight, and when you don’t have the same gear you just can’t run the set-up that Triple Eight have because it just doesn’t work. “There is such a small operating window with these cars that everything has to be exactly the same to have someone else’s set-up in the car. So when we steered away from that, we actually felt like we made some good progress. But then we had some development stuff come along, and as good as it was for some of the meetings, it steered us in a direction that led us down the garden path basically. “The development had great potential, but the set-up that we went with was certainly out of the window. Towards the end of last year, when we went back to basics, we started to find our feet again, but it was all too late.” By the last round of the season in Newcastle, Team 18 had once again found form, with SUPERCAR XTRA
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LEE HOLDSWORTH CAREER TIMELINE
2004
ROBERT SMITH RACING Holden VX Commodore
2005-2011
Holdsworth putting in some eye-catching performances. The 36-year-old believes this resurgence played a part in securing the Tickford drive. “No doubt,” he says. “People obviously knew that I could do the job when I’ve got the car and I’ve proven that most times at some point every year. I think it probably gave them a bit of reassurance that they were making the right decision.” The Supercars off-season was full of drama. There was the bombshell that 2007 champion Garth Tander had lost his full-time ride at Garry Rogers Motorsport, while Michael Caruso was unable to reach a deal to continue at Kelly Racing. Fortunately for Holdsworth, learning about his axing last year meant he was able to secure a deal for 2019 with seats still in play. “I feel very fortunate,” he says. “There are some drivers who are not on the grid for this year that should be there, in my opinion. “My results have not been there but it’s nice to be recognised for the opportunities that I’ve had and for people to realise I’ve done quite a good job with what I’ve had. I’ve been fortunate, so I now need to make it happen.
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GARRY ROGERS MOTORSPORT Holden VZ-VE Commodore
2012
STONE BROTHERS RACING Ford FG Falcon
“I need to make sure that I make the most of this opportunity and just try and get the career progression going in the right direction and on the right path again.” When Holdsworth’s signing was announced, Tickford Racing CEO and team principal Tim Edwards was adamant the veteran racer was a good fit for the team. “We’re very pleased that Lee is driving the new Ford Mustang,” says Edwards. “He’s the right man for the job. He’s a good driver, a good bloke, a good fit with The Bottle-O, and we believe he will bring us great results on and off the track. “He’s got something to prove in 2019, as do we. We like that he’s bullish about the year.” Holdsworth believes he and Tickford returnee Davison have the right mindset to help build a strong team. “I think what’s important from Will and I is that we come in with very positive thoughts,” he says. “From where we have been, we feel like we are going into something better straight away. I think that’s where they will benefit from us. “It’s more the attitude I think. Cam [Waters] and Chaz have been around for a while now and nothing beats experience with a team.
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2013-2014
EREBUS MOTORSPORT AMG Mercedes-Benz E63
2015-2018
TEAM 18 Holden VF-ZB Commodore
“Those guys will show us the ropes, I’m sure.” While some may question Tickford’s decision to bring in two drivers in their mid-thirties to the team, Holdsworth is adamant that experience will be invaluable. “A bit of experience doesn’t go astray,” he says. “Keeping a bit of a level head and, based on my experience, not panicking too much when things go wrong at one race meeting. Don’t throw the kitchen sink at it because we’ve found time and time again, a very small tune on these cars can put them in the window. It’s very easy to panic in those situations.” There were plenty of those tough days at Tickford last season but a strong end-of-year resurgence was highlighted by a win on the Gold Coast and a podium in New Zealand for Mostert. So does Holdsworth believe his new team can get back to the front on a regular basis? “Yeah, I do. I definitely do,” he says. “They have to. They are a factory outfit. In terms of staff, probably the biggest team in pitlane. There’s no option but for them to bounce back. “They’ve done it in the past. They’ve won a championship. They’ve won the Bathurst 1000 a couple of times. So we know they can do it. It’s just a matter of getting the right ingredients again and baking the cake right, I suppose.”
2019
TICKFORD RACING Ford Mustang
Tickford Racing has been subjected to its fair share of media scrutiny and accompanying expectations over the years. With two new additions and the Mustang, the pressure to perform will be as strong as ever, especially for Holdsworth, who by his own admission feels fortunate to be given this opportunity. “I feel like I’m prepared for anything,” he says. “I’ve been through the wringer and back over the last few years. I’m really just going into this year with no concerns. I know it’s going to be a big challenge but, to be honest, I just feel fortunate that I’ve got the opportunity and I’ll make the most of it.” So back to those goals for 2019. Holdsworth will look to stay as close as possible to the rear of Mostert’s Mustang and pick up some strong results along the way. “It’s hard to set goals at this stage,” Holdsworth says. “I always say it’s boring to say that I want to finish top 10 in the championship. I just want to roll out of the gate competitive and build on it from there. If the team is competitive, I’d like to see podiums this year.”
“EVERYONE IS EXCITED ABOUT THE MUSTANG… I THINK THEY’LL HAVE FOUR DRIVERS WHO’LL WORK WELL TOGETHER AND PUSH THE TEAM FORWARD.” – LEE HOLDSWORTH
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TEAM HISTORIES
WORDS Adrian Musolino IMAGES Autopics.com.au, James Baker, Peter Norton, Justin Deeley
The history of the numbers on the 2019 Virgin Australia Supercars Championship grid tells some interesting stories. We look back at the roots of the entries to celebrate the diversity of teams’, drivers’ and Supercars’ histories.
TRIPLE EIGHT RACE ENGINEERING #88, #97
The team named after the #888 isn’t campaigning the number on a full-time basis in 2019. Craig Lowndes had run the #888 since joining the team in 2005, with the number now parked following his full-time retirement. Triple Eight derived the number from Chinese mythology, which considers eight (‘Fa’) a lucky number that’s linked to prosperity and success. The team fielded the #88 and #888 from its first full season in 2004, though Jamie Whincup did opt for the #1 while the reigning champion. Shane van Gisbergen’s preferred number is #97, which he ran at Tekno Autosports and carried across to Triple Eight in 2016.
DJR TEAM PENSKE #12, #17
The #17 has become one of the most iconic racing numbers in Australian motorsport thanks to the efforts of Dick Johnson, who won his five championships and three Bathurst 1000s with the number. It has been a regular with the team ever since its debut in 1980, continuing on since Johnson’s retirement from racing in 1999 and the change to DJR Team Penske in 2014. Following the loss of long-time second number #18 to Charlie Schwerkolt, DJR Team Penske took on the #12 that Team Penske has had a long association with in North America, including with Australian Will Power in IndyCar. The #12 had also previously been run by Dick Johnson Racing when it had a lease on Dean Fiore’s license in 2012 and 2013. Dick Johnson Racing
Triple Eight Race Engineering
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Lucas Dumbrell Motorsport
23 RED RACING #23
Phil Munday’s lucky number and colour, 23 and red, formed the name of the team that took over from Lucas Dumbrell Motorsport ahead of the 2018 season. With Nissan Motorsport fielding the #23, given its ties to the manufacturer (‘ni’ is ‘two’ and ‘san’ ‘three’ in Japanese), 23 Red Racing opted for #230 as an alternative last season. Nissan’s decision to end its factory backing of the team now known as Kelly Racing freed up the #23, which was promptly snapped up by 23 Red Racing for 2019. The #23 was also used by the Munday-sponsored Lucas Dumbrell Motorsport in 2014.
TICKFORD RACING #5, #6, #55
Tickford Racing’s roots link back to Glenn Seton Racing, which became the factory-backed Ford team from 1999 and campaigned the #5 and #6 entries when the Racing Entitlements Contracts were initially allocated. Ford Performance Racing took over from 2003 and kept the #5 and #6 through various name changes, which led to Tickford Racing. The #55 belongs to Tickford Racing co-owner Rod Nash, who fielded the number when he drove his own privateer entry. He took his license to Ford Performance Racing from 2010 and has retained the #55 ever since.
Glenn Seton Racing SUPERCAR XTRA
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TEAM HISTORIES
Stone Brothers Racing
EREBUS MOTORSPORT #9, #99
Erebus Motorsport bought out Stone Brothers Racing ahead of the 2013 season and retained the #9 that the team fielded along with the #4, the former winning the title courtesy of Russell Ingall in 2005. Erebus Motorsport moved away from the #4 and rebranded its second entry to #99 in 2017, and the #9 and #99 are a good fit with the matching Penrite Oil liveries on the cars in 2019.
WALKINSHAW ANDRETTI UNITED #2, #22
The Holden Racing Team dominated Supercars in the late 1990s and early 2000s, running with the #1 and #2 from the implementation of the Racing Entitlements Contracts system in 1999. The team retained the #2 even when it had lost the #1 and ran the #22 from 2004. Those numbers have stuck, though James Courtney campaigned the #25 in 2018 in honour of Mobil 1’s 25th year with team before returning to the #22 this season.
BRAD JONES RACING #8, #14, #21
Brad Jones enjoyed success as a driver with the #8 and promptly picked up the number when it became available following the demise of WPS Racing in 2008. Brad Jones Racing debuted in Supercars with the #21 in 2000 but opted for a switch to #14 in 2006 in a bid to change its fortunes. While the #14 remains with Brad Jones Racing, the #21 eventually returned in 2010 when Jason Bright parked his license at the team. When Bright took his license to Tickford Racing and Tim Blanchard purchased a license from Super Black Racing, the third entry run by Brad Jones Racing retained the #21. Fittingly, Macauley Jones is racing the #21 that father Brad Jones also raced with in 2000. Brad Jones Racing
Holden Racing Team
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HSV Dealer Team
Perkins Engineering
KELLY RACING #3, #7 #15, #78
The differences in numbers amongst the four-car Kelly Racing outfit reflect the variety in the team’s history and the drivers’ backgrounds. The #7 and #15 come from the two teams that were formed to create Kelly Racing in 2009, Perkins Engineering and the HSV Dealer Team. The #7 was a regular at Perkins Engineering at the time, syncing up with major sponsor Jack Daniel’s and their ‘Old Number 7’ brand. Rick Kelly raced with the #15 at the HSV Dealer Team and retained the number when it morphed into Kelly Racing. The #3 was picked up for rookie Garry Jacobson this season and is one of the most celebrated in the history of the championship, raced by Ian Geoghegan, Jim Richards, Tony Longhurst, Jason Richards and more. The #78 is a personal favourite of Simona de Silvestro, who raced with the number in IndyCar and carried it over into Supercars.
MATT STONE RACING #35
Matt Stone Racing is one of the newest teams on the grid, yet the history of its number dates back to the early career of Jim Stone, father of team owner Matt Stone. The elder Stone was a mechanic for Miedecke Motorsport, with which Andrew Miedecke ran the #35 in the 1980s. Son George Miedecke picked up the #35 when he drove for Matt Stone Racing in the Dunlop Super2 Series, and the number continued with the team into its graduation into the main game in 2018.
Matt Stone
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TEAM HISTORIES
Tekno Autosports
Garry Rogers
GARRY ROGERS MOTORSPORT #33, #34
Garry Rogers had a long driving career before owning his own team, racing with the #34 for long periods and occasionally the #33. Garry Rogers Motorsport entered the Australian Touring Car Championship with the #32 in 1996, though picked up and switched to the #34 when it became available the following season. The team expanded to two cars in 1998 and ran the #34 and #35, though switched to the #33 in 2003 following the departure of long-time #35 driver Jason Bargwanna. The #33 and #34 remain as part of the longest continuation of two numbers from the same team currently in Supercars.
TEKNO AUTOSPORTS #19
Jonathon Webb purchased a license in 2010 and ran as a third car at Dick Johnson Racing. With Dick Johnson Racing running the #17 and #18, Webb’s Tekno entry naturally campaigned the #19. It was
a familiar number for Dick Johnson Racing, having run the #19 on a third entry for Steven Johnson in 1994 and 1995. Tekno Autosports kept the #19 when it became an independent operation from 2011 and retains the number to this day.
TEAM 18 #18
The #18 was made famous by long-time privateer Murray Carter and adopted by Dick Johnson Racing when it expanded to two cars in 1987. Charlie Schwerkolt bought a 50 per cent shareholding of the team in the mid 2000s, taking ownership of the #18. After leaving the team, Schwerkolt leased the #18 to Dick Johnson Racing for 2011 and 2012 before running his own Charlie Schwerkolt Racing entry from 2013. The #18 ran on Ford Falcons in 2013 and 2014 before a switch to Holden Commodores, leaving one of the most iconic Ford numbers on the other side of the manufacturer divide.
Dick Johnson Racing
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1/18 SCALE – ITEM 18682 1/43 SCALE – ITEM 18682 1/64 SCALE – ITEM 18682 November 2017 - Order FormDUE No.1 1ST QTR 2019
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JUNE 2019
SHOOTOUT
THE BEST-LOOKING CARS OF 2019, AS VOTED BY THE FANS 6 MATT STONE RACING #35
10 TICKFORD RACING #5
The Bottle-O colours have been part of Tickford Racing since its Ford Performance Racing days in 2010. The now standard green is complimented by a white bonnet featuring ‘Southern Comfort’ on the Mustang.
Matt Stone Racing’s bold new all-silver livery certainly turned heads when it was unveiled ahead of the season opener in Adelaide. The single-car team, in its second season in the main game, will rotate sponsorships on the silver base of the Holden ZB Commodore driven by Todd Hazelwood. Race Engineering since 2013, and the energy-drink giant has the predominate branding on the team’s Commodores despite its status as the factorybacked Holden outfit.
9 TICKFORD RACING #55
Supercheap Auto is in its fourth season with Chaz Mostert and Tickford Racing, and its mix of colours on the new Mustang is easy to spot on the grid once again.
5 WALKINSHAW ANDRETTI UNITED #2 & #22
Walkinshaw Andretti United welcomed Mega Fuels as a new major sponsor for 2019, and the colour combinations of the new addition and long-time team backer Mobil 1 blend well on the white base.
4 TRIPLE EIGHT RACE ENGINEERING #88 & #97 8 23 RED RACING #23
The red and white of the Milwaukee Tools-backed entry debuted in 2018, and the colours of the naming-rights sponsor carry across the entry’s partnership with Tickford Racing and switch to the Mustang.
Red Bull has been a namingrights sponsor of Triple Eight
3 EREBUS MOTORSPORT #9 & #99 The Erebus Motorsport and Penrite partnership began in late 2015 when the team was still running customer AMG Mercedes-Benz Supercars, and expands in 2019 with namingright sponsorship for the team’s two Holden ZB Commodores. The doubling up of the striking black, gold and red livery, including matching #9 and #99 numbers, has clearly been welcomed by fans.
2 TICKFORD RACING #6
Monster Energy joined forces with Tickford Racing in 2016, and its black base and green highlights are a definite standout on the grid. The colours work well on the Mustang, with the little touches such as the green headlights giving the entry a menacing look.
1 DJR TEAM PENSKE #12 & #17
The Shell liveries on the DJR Team Penske cars may not have changed much in the switch to the Mustang but the historical significance of the sponsorship/ team combination and the red and yellow cars clearly mean a lot to the fans.
7 NISSAN MOTORSPORT #15
Rick Kelly’s Castrol-backed Nissan Altima was one of the most popular looking cars in 2018, marking the return of Castrol as a naming-rights sponsor to the team with which it had a legendary relationship when it was Perkins Engineering. The slightly updated livery for 2019 is evidently still a winner with fans. 74
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